Heritage
by CandyWolf777
Summary: Bella discovers something that changes her life forever: she's part Quileute. She thinks nothing of it until she bursts into a giant white wolf. Now, she must learn the life of being a werewolf, and what it means to be part of the pack. Bella x Jacob
1. Chapter 1: Genealogy

** Why hellooo! Welcome to our first story, Heritage. A few key points for this book: Bella does not know Jacob is a werewolf, nor does she know the Cullens. Thanks for looking, and please review to let us know what you think! **

** - M&M**

Peter Swan looked up at his father, William Swan, in defiance. He held Anna tightly in his arms. "Father, you can't keep us apart!" He said strongly.

Anna's father, Remus, seemed to snarl down at her. "Oh, but I can. You can't get married without my blessing, and I'm sure as hell not gonna give it to you. I won't sanction you sullying the Quileute bloodlines like this. A Swan and a Atera were never meant to be together."

Anna spoke, anger in her voice. "This isn't about tribe traditions, Dad, or family honor, or bloodlines. I love Peter, and he loves me. There shouldn't be anything more to it."

Jenna, Anna's mother, spoke. "Well, there is. This is final Anna. We forbid you two from seeing each other again. This is over as of now!"

Lucy, Peter's mother, nodded stiffly in agreement. Peter and Anna looked at each other, fear plain in their eyes. What would they do? It was already too late. In nine months, there wouldn't be anything their parents could do...

.::~_Five Generations Later~_::.

Charlie hovered over my shoulder as I flipped through the ancient book. It must have had all of my ancestors recorded there since the cave men days. I had been looking through it for a history project we were given to do over the summer on our ancestors, when a name popped out to me. Several, in fact. _Atera... Ulley... Clearwater._ Quileutes? I spoke.

"Uh, Dad?"

"Yeah?" He asked, sounding only a little bit bored.

"I didn't know there were Quilieutes in our family..."

"Yup. Your great-great-grandpa was half in half. See there? He had a kid with Anna, a girl, and their daughter got married to an Ulley; then that line follows down to Sam Ulley. He's your fourth cousin removed a few times. Or somethin' like that." He gestured around with his hand for emphasis.

"Really? That's cool." I said.

Charlie almost looked scared. "I hope your not gonna go all 'Native Heritage' and start walking around with a bow and arrow and some moccasins. If that's the case, your gonna be sleeping outside."

I laughed. "Don't worry. I'm too pale to pull it off."

"Good. Well, uh, I hope you found something interesting to put in your report."

I smiled at Charlie's attempt to be gruff. "Yeah, thanks Dad. This is perfect."

"Awesome. Well, you may be on vacation, but not me. I gotta go to work."

"Yeah, OK. Hey, can I go down to the rez today?" I asked. I was eager to tell Jake about this. I saw my dad's eyes light up at the suggestion; I knew how much he liked Jake.

"Of course you can, honey. I'm probably gonna work late tonight, so you take your time."

"Sure. Thanks. I'll see you later then." I said as I watched him clip on his belt.

"Okay. Bye, Bells." He walked out the front door, closing it firmly behind him.

I waited until I heard the tires rolling on the gravel, then onto the pavement of the road, before I got up and called Jake. I walked into our happy, yellow, kitchen and grabbed the phone from the hook. The Black's phone number was on our speed dial, so I pressed the four and waited. It rang three times before Billy's voice answered on the other line.

"Hello?" His voice was gruff and husky, like an older Jacob.

"Hey Billy. It's Bella. Is Jacob there, or..." I trailed off.

"No, he's out with Sam and the others. But if you want to come over an wait, he should be home in a few minutes." He suggested.

"Wow, that'd be great. I guess I'll see you in a bit then."

"Alright. Bye, Bella."

I heard the phone on the other end click as Billy put it back onto the receiver, and I did the same thing. I couldn't hide the smile on my face as I pulled my favorite brown hoodie over my head, grabbed my family tree book, and walked out to my truck. Though it was July, the air was still crisp and damp. I climbed into my truck, and turned the key in the ignition. The roaring engine comforted me, as I sped only slightly over the speed limit.

I pulled off of the paved street, and onto the gravel road that led into La Push. As I went through town, I smiled as several people recognized me and waved. I waved back. It was almost five more minutes until the little red house came into view. The Rabbit was parked next to the shed. I saw the curtains swish, and I assumed that Billy had been looking out for me.

The truck fell into silence as I turned off the engine. I hopped out of the cab, a fine mist now falling from the sky. I was chilled by the time I made it to the porch, thankful that Billy had the door open and waiting for me. The house was warm and cozy. The TV in the living room was muted; the channel showed a man crouching over a freshly killed buck. I could smell something delicious wafting in from the kitchen.

"Hey Billy. Thanks for letting me come over."

"Anytime, Bella." He said with a surprisingly white smile. I returned it and sat down on the couch, my book resting carefully on my lap. "What'd you got there?" Billy nodded at my book and wheeled closer, peering at the faded cover.

"It's my family tree book. I thought you and Jacob might be interested in something I found this morning." I replied, putting a piece of old tape back in it's place.

The front door opened, and Jake walked in. He was wearing a pair of old cut of khaki shorts and nothing else. "Bella!" He exclaimed, striding over to me and picking me up. He grasped me in a huge hug and held me tight before letting me go.

"I have something to show you." I said, reaching for the book from where it fell onto the couch. I sat down, Jake doing the same. I placed the gargantuan book on my lap, the old wrinkled leather was smooth under my fingers. I flipped open to the most recent page. I followed the line up. "See, here's me, and above me there's Charlie. That's his father, my grandpa, Jeffery Swan, than Jeff's great grandfather there; his name was Peter. Peter married an Atera, who had a daughter who married an Ulley! Then they had some sons, which eventually ended up with Sam. See, I'm part Quileute! I'm like Sam's fourth cousin removed a few times."

Jake took the book. "Huh. That's... I wonder how that happened. I heard that back then, the Tribe was really big on 'Pure Bloodlines' and stuff. I can't imagine that her parents would just let her have a kid with a pale face."

"They didn't." Billy spoke, his voice dark and disapproving. "I remember the stories. The two fell in love. Their parents didn't approve at all, so the two ran away together. Nine months they came back with a baby stroller." Billy seemed to spit the words out in disgust. "Their parents all but disowned them. If I remember, they had two children, a daughter and a son."

I was a little bit disturbed at Billy's strong feelings, but disregarded them. "Uh, yeah. That's right. The daughter married an Ulley, and the son continued on the Swan name." I paused. "So isn't that cool? Ha ha to you Jake. You can't call me a pale face anymore."

He shook his head, smiling. "Yes I can."

I pouted.

"Though you may be, what, one twentieth Quileute, and from Phoenix, you are still very pale; so to me you will always be a pale face."

"Wonderful. Here I was, thinking I was off the hook."

"Nope. Never. So, why are you here?"

"Oh, I can't drop by and see my best friend? Too busy to spend time with me? I'm hurt, Jake."

Jake looked worried for a second, like he thought I was serious, then laughed and pulled me up off the couch. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Hey, come on. Let's go do something."

"Alright." I agreed quickly. I had always enjoyed spending time with Jake, and probably always would.

Jake led us outside, and I was relieved to see that it had stopped misting, though the skies remained gray and it was probably going to start back up again. Just as a few drops began to fall, we ran into the tiny garage. Jake opened up the passenger door of the rabbit and gestured for me to get in. "After you, madame."

I laughed. "You're such a nerd."

"Sorry. Can't help it." He grinned, getting in the drivers side.

"Are we going somewhere?" I asked as he put his hands on the wheel.

"Nah. I only need one more thing, but then we could. I just thought these finely carpeted seats would be more comfortable than the ground." He joked.

"They are. So you're almost done? What more do you need? I can't wait to see you get this thing out on the road."

"Just a part for the brakes. They sell it in town, but I haven't gotten a chance to go yet." He shrugged.

"Well, we have the truck. Let's go get it, and you can finish it today."

"Seriously?" He grinned a stunning smile, and I returned it.

"Why not?"

"Awesome." He said, grinning from ear to ear.

It seemed that almost as soon as we had gotten in the Rabbit, we were out and back into the cold drizzle. Jake was jogging through the rain and I tried to keep up, but failed miserably. Foolishly, I tried to speed up, and only succeeded in nearly falling flat on my face. Jake must have heard my gasp or my flailing limbs as I tried to regain my balance. He turned and laughed as he saw me in what I could only assume was a fairly hilarious position. My feet were braced apart and my hands splayed out on either side on me, standing upright, waiting for the ground to try and shake me down again.

He jogged back to me and swept me into his arms. I squeaked, and beat on his chest as he shifted me so he was carrying me bridal style. "Jake! Put me down! I can walk by myself."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. Maybe one day you'll meet someone who believes you."

I sighed. "You are not funny Jacob Black."

"You're right. I'm freaking hilarious."

I shook my head as he opened the passenger door and set me down in the truck. He walked over to the other side and sat down, asking for the keys. "Jake, you don't even have your license."

"So?"

I shrugged and gave him the keys. "If you get us arrested I will kick you until you can no longer move." I said, turning to watch the rain falling outside of my window.

"Correction: You'll try. And even if we do get arrested, I could always just bust us out." He said, a confident grin on his face.

"Yeah. Sure you could. I'm sure Charlie would just love that."

"True, true." He said, turning the key in the engine.

The truck roared to life and he pulled out of their small gravel driveway, then onto the main road. The ride into forks was quiet, but comfortable. We passed the 'Welcome to Forks' sign, and I knew the mechanic shop wasn't far away. Jake pulled into the closest parking spot to the door. I unbuckled my seat belt and hopped out, quickly scurrying under the overhang surrounding the shop.

Jake walked in front of me, but only so he could open the door for me when I got to it. The smell of metal and oil washed out of the shop, clearing my head. It was a familiar smell, reminding me of all the time I had spent with Jake so far this summer. Jake inhaled deeply, and grinned. I could tell he was more at home in a place like this than anywhere else. I smiled and shook my head.

Jake stiffened beside me, and I turned to him, concerned. "Jake? What's-" Then I saw him. It was the most beautiful boy I had ever seen. He was tall and lanky. Sinewy muscle covered his body. His hair was copper. Something was off about him. I didn't know what it was, but something didn't sit well in my gut at all. The boy was talking to the man behind the cashier.

"Surely there must be some way you could get that part? I need it within the week."

"I'm sorry, but we only get shipments in once every two months, and that part for a car like that, well, we don't even carry that line." The man was flustered, his speech was shaky, sweat beaded on his upper lip.

I watched as the boy too, stiffened. He turned to us in the door way, and for a second, I thought his eyes looked almost gold, but then they were black. He turned back to the man at the counter. "Very well. It's obvious you can't help me. Thank you for your time." He said curtly, and walked with exaggeratedly long strides, almost as if he were trying not to run.

I tried to step out of the guy's way, but I ran into Jake who might as well have turned into a stone pillar. I ended up losing my balance and bouncing back into the kid. I smacked hard into his chest. And by hard, I mean the kid felt like Jake, like he was made out of stone. Except he wasn't warm like a sun, he was cold like the moon. He turned his vicious black glare on me, his eyes boring holes into mine. His lip twitched like he was trying to fight off a snarl. Then he was gone.

Jake was shaking next to me, and to be honest, I didn't feel too great either. Something wasn't sitting right in my stomach, but I ignored it. I put my hand on Jake's shoulder and shook a little. "Hey Jake? You okay? Come on, let's get this part you need and get outta here. That guy gave me the creeps."

That seemed to shake him out of it. "Yeah? Yeah, okay." Jake picked the part off of where it was hanging on the wall, tossed a few twenty dollar bills down on the counter, and left the store without another word.

The whole ride home Jake's eyes grew blacker and blacker as his mood grew worse, and I felt stranger and stranger. Who had that boy been? Why had he seemed so... wrong? When I saw him, why did I feel that... fear? Not fear really, but just a consuming... anger. I couldn't make sense of it. He was too perfect, too cold, and too... Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. I felt like I was falling apart. I felt like I wasn't me anymore, or soon wouldn't be.

"Jake." I said. My voice was urgent and hard.

Jake looked at me from the corner of his eyes, and he must have seen something in my face, because he slammed on the brakes. We were halfway between Jake's house and the main part of La Push. Forest bordered us on both sides. "Oh my God. Bella!"

"Jake. Jake, something's wrong. Something feels wrong." I said, my voice getting panicky. My hands began to shake uncontrollably, and I felt like I was getting a fever. I was burning up.

"No! That... that leech! He did this to you!" He was raging now, and something inside me latched on to that, and I began to feel the same thing. Rage. Anger. Fear. It was so unlike me...

"Jake, what's going on?!"

"Bella, get out of the car! Now!" He said, flinging open his door. I did the same, unsettled by how every thing I did seemed to be in a fog. I was in a daze. He grabbed my arm roughly and dragged me about twenty yards into the woods. I couldn't see the road, or my truck.

"Tell me what's going on! Now!" My anger built inside me.

I couldn't control it. I felt a fire running down my spine. I couldn't control it any longer. My whole body was shaking; I was shaking apart into so many pieces I wasn't even me anymore. I was something else. Then all at once, it blew. All the tension blew up inside me. My limbs were on fire, but only for the briefest moment. I heard a vicious snarl that rang in my ears, somehow comforting, somehow familiar. Then it was over.

**Oooooh. I have to say Marissa did an excellent job writing this chapter! Please, please, please, please, please review, favorite, all that stuff. Reviews make us type faster! Promise! **

**- M&M**


	2. Chapter 2: Acceptance

**Chapter 2! Alright! So, uh, disclaimers... Hmm... We don't own this. So... Please enjoy the following fic. As we stated before, in this story, Bella doesn't know about the Cullens, it's summer vacation, and she doesn't know about the wolves. Well, she does now. But she didn't before? Kay? Kay.**

I opened my eyes and things had changed. Everything was the same, but so different. There were no more mysterious shadows hiding things I couldn't see. Every hue of every color had a contrast with the things near it that the colors were so vivid, no matter how far away I was, I could see everything like it was a high-def TV. My ears roared with sound, nothing special, just the sounds of the forest. But they were so loud, I whimpered. Whimpered?

My mind was reeling. I had a tail, it was standing straight out, bristling just like the rest of my fur. Fur?! I pinned my ears against my head, and bared my teeth. _What the hell is going on?!_ I felt like crying, or screaming, or tearing something apart with my claws. I was me, but I wasn't me. There were others here. There were thoughts in my mind that weren't mine. I was seeing things from other places, places where I wasn't. I crouched to the ground, trembling. I was so confused, so lost, so mixed-up. My thoughts jumbled through my head like a angry nest of hornets. I wasn't me. Something was wrong. Everything was so confusing I couldn't think, couldn't function. I panicked.

_It's okay, Bella._

That name. It was my name. I felt my body relax, but only a fraction. I didn't speak, just emitted a steady growl. That voice...

_Calm down. I'm right here. You're fine. You're safe. _It was his voice. The one I would know anywhere.

_J-Jake? Jacob?_ Looking around for the first time, I saw that I wasn't alone. There was someone, something, in the woods with me. My mind dug deep into what I used to be, and I remembered the name. Wolf. It was a giant wolf. It was russet, auburn mixed with brown. It looked at me, and I looked at it. Still growling. I understood it's facial expressions. Sadness.

_It's me, Bella._ Infinite sadness and pain rang through his thoughts. He was so calm, so... Jacob. Suddenly, a feeling washed over me. It was... a warmth. For a second I felt detached from everything, and then... clarity. I had been seeing everything before, and now it was all pointing at this one wolf in front of me. All of the millions of strings that had attached me to my life, everything that had ever given me purpose, they were all cut, and then tied again to this one person in front of me. Needless to say, it didn't help my confusion.

It anchored me. It helped bring me back to where I should be in my own mind. _Jake?! What's going on? What happened to me?_

_It was him. That guy. That bloodsucker. He did this to you. _His eyes were wide, his voice faint. He must have felt what I had. The reattached strings.

_What?_

_Remember that story I told you a while ago? It was about the cold ones and how Quileutes are descended from wolves? It's true. Sam, Quil, Embry, Paul, Seth, Leah, you, and I are all werewolves. And those others, those _Cullens_, they're the reason we are what we are. They're vampires._

_Jake, what do you mean? What's going on? Why am I seeing things that aren't here. It's in my mind._

_Guys, go away for a sec. _Jake spoke, but I knew it wasn't meant for me. The presences faded away. He spoke to me then, alone. _As wolves, we can share our thoughts and feelings with the other wolves. Well, not really can, we have to. It's not a choice. What they see, you see. What they hear and smell, you hear and smell._ Now that he had mentioned it, I could see something in my mind, like it was through his eyes, but I couldn't comprehend it.

_Am I stuck like this? Jake, I scared._

_Don't worry. No, of course you're not stuck like this. And you're gonna be fine. You're actually doing really well for your first time phasing._

_Really?_

_Really. Now come on. Let's get you back to my house. We can get you some clothes and I'll help you change back into your human form._

_What happened to my clothes?_

_Well, they don't just disappear Bella. You kind of shredded them._

I was still startled and in shock, and didn't respond. Jake walked up to me and nudged his shoulder against mine. _Come on. There's some stuff I wanna show you._

_'Kay._

Then Jake was running. And I was running. We were both moving faster than I ever had in my life... and I was loving it. My claws dug into the ground, tearing up anything beneath them as I propelled myself further. Soon I had caught up to Jake, and would have passed him, but he halted me with his thoughts. No words, just his feelings. I realized we were nearing Jake's house.

_Does Billy know?_

_Just about every old person in the Tribe knows, but still. We can't talk about it to anyone. Charlie can't know. None of your friends at school._

_I understand. _I felt a mind join ours. It was Sam. I didn't know how I knew, I just did. He had an authority to his voice, and I knew he was... alpha, or something like that.

_You're doing really well, Bella._

_Sam?_

_Yeah. Jacob, bring her around to the back. Leah agreed to lend her some clothes._

Jake scoffed from where he trotted next to me. _Wow Sam. How'd you manage that? I'm surprised you didn't lose any limbs._

_Jake, you're gonna scare Bella. _A new voice joined us. Quil Atera.

_Quil, Bella just exploded into a giant wolf, I don't think Leah's nasty attitude will do much to phase her._ Jake thought.

_Are you here yet? And Quil, go away. This is gonna be hard enough as it is._ Sam said.

_Sure thing, Boss!_ Quil thought, and his consciousness faded.

_Yeah._ Jake said.

_Good. Bring her around._

I felt Jake's agreement. We broke into a steady lope, which was still much faster than any human could run. Behind Jacob's house the woods were thin, with little to no underbrush in must places because in the spring floods would wash through and wiped all the loosely rooted things out. It was easy to run in, and the dirt was cool beneath my paws. In a small clearing in front of us, I saw one wolf sitting there. It was jet black with burning amber eyes. Sam.

_Bella._ He nodded to me.

I nodded in return. _Hey Sam. What the hell?_

_I'm sorry this happened to you._

_I don't even know what _this_ is._

_This is your life now. You can't run away from it' it won't go away. Your purpose now is to kill vampires. It's our job to protect the people in Forks and in the Tribe._

_Then why are... those things still living in town._

_We have a treaty with them. Of sorts. They don't feed on humans, so technically they're not a threat. As long as they don't hurt and humans or wolves, and keep our presence a secret, we'll do the same for them._

_But it's their fault that this happened to me!_

_I know. That's why we try to keep the kids on the rez. _

_But I'm barely even Quileute! My great-great-grandpa was half! How could it be strong enough in my blood for me to become this?_

Sam just shrugged.

I bowed my head for a moment. Not thinking, not moving. Just reconciling. Obviously there was nothing I could do, everything had already happened. I sighed. _So how do I do this?_

Sam blinked a few times before speaking. _You have to pull back the change. Can you feel it inside of you? That part of you that isn't you? Pull it back inside of your mind. _

I was about to do as Sam said when Jake stopped me. _Whoa there, Bella. Hold on a sec. _He looked pointedly at Sam and Quil who rolled their eyes and turned their backs towards me.

I heard Sam's voice again. _The clothes are by that big rock._ I saw the picture clearly in his memory.

I trotted over to them and gently grasped them between my front teeth. I could see they were a pair of cut of sweat pants and a loos tee shirt. No underwear. No bra. Wonderful. I heard Jake snicker next to me and I blushed, remembering the telepathic stuff. I shook my head, dispelling the thoughts so I could concentrate.

Sam was right. I could definitely feel the other part now. It was distinct and prominent in my mind. I could feel it at the base of my neck. Nothing physical about it, but it was there. I latched onto that, and pulled the fire back inside me. The next thing I knew, the fire was pent up back inside of me, and I was kneeling nude on the forest floor. I scrambled for the clothes, hurriedly putting them on as I realized I was naked in the middle of the woods with three teenage boys surrounding me. I blushed again.

"I'm done." I said, guessing that they could no longer hear my thoughts, as I couldn't hear there's.

"So am I." Jake said. I turned to see him in a pair of cut off camouflage pants. I collapsed down to my knees, shaking, but not from anger this time. It was shock. Jake rushed over to me, kneeling beside me. He put his arms on my shoulders, and for once his skin didn't feel like it was burning hot. I was the same temperature as him now. I thought struck me.

"Hey Jake. If you're russet, and Sam is black, what color was I?"

Jake smiled at my question, like he was pleased I was thinking slightly more normal things. "You were white. Well, kinda like a white-ish silver."

"Really?" I liked that.

"Yup."

Sam spoke from behind us. He had changed into cut off sweats like me. "Bella, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just figured out that I'm a giant fluffy monster and that there's a coven of vampires living five miles from my house. Yeah, I'm doin' great. Never better." At least my sarcasm was intact.

Jake spoke my thoughts. "At least she kept her sarcasm." I blinked a few times, positive he couldn't read my thoughts. Oh well. Coincidence.

"So what happens to me now?" I asked.

"You're part of the pack now. That means almost every night you'll be running patrols. Like I said, it's our job to keep vampires away from Forks."

"Are there many?" I tried to think of how many extraordinarily beautiful people I had seen in my life, and not many came to mind.

"No, but there are more than you would think." Jake said, a grimace on his face. I was silent for a few minutes. I could barely think through all of the chaos that was running rampant inside my mind. Jake looked concerned. "Hey... Bella? You okay in there?"

"Yeah. I guess... um, wow." Those few words were all I could get out.

My whole life; my future, my fate, my friends, my feelings... none of that... existed now. It was all gone. I was committed to this for the rest of my life now, and not a thing could change it. The second this thought ran through my mind, I felt weak in the knees. I swayed dangerously from side to side, but I didn't fall like I would have before. I knew Jake could see the pain in my eyes.

"I'm so sorry Bella." Jake whispered, supporting me carefully, like a fragile piece of glass.

I sank down onto the rock where my clothes were. "I'm sorry, this is just a lot to take in."

Sam stepped forward. "We understand, Bella. If we had known, you might have been better prepared. Maybe you should go home and sort out your thoughts; get some rest." Sam suggested, his voice sympathetic.

"Yeah, okay." I breathed.

"I'll take you home." Jake said, offering a hand.

"Thanks." I replied, meekly grabbing his hand and letting him pull me up.

I waited in the truck for Jake, who ran into the house to get my book. I felt exposed, and my cheeks blazed red at the thought that anyone might be looking at me in these ratty old sweats. I smiled in relief when Jake emerged with my book and an old jacket.

"Here you go." Jake handed me the jacket first, which I put on eagerly, grateful he had thought of it. I wasn't cold, but it helped me feel covered. For a second I wished I was a wolf, with that thick pelt. I blinked a few times; was I already... getting used to this?

The ride home was silent as I collected my thoughts and feelings, trying my best to ball them up in one corner of my mind where I could asses them later. When we pulled into the driveway, Jake turned off the car and we sat in silence. I could feel Jake's eyes on me. I opened the cover of my book about a quarter of an inch and let it fall.

"Do you want to come in?" I asked, hand on the truck's door handle, waiting for his response. A large part of me wanted him to say yes. Yeah, sure he was my friend, but this was a different feeling. I did my best to ignore it.

"Sure." Jake smiled, and opened his door. I followed, walking up the sidewalk and unlocking the front door.

"Hungry?" I asked, first walking into the family room and placing the book back on it's rightful place on the mantel before rejoining Jake in the kitchen.

"Do you have to ask?" Jake grinned.

I smiled back. "I think we have some pizza rolls in the freezer. Want me to warm those up?" I suggested, opening the freezer and rummaging around.

"Sounds great." Jake agreed with an expectant smile on his face, sitting down at the table.

I put the pizza rolls in the oven and walked upstairs to change. When I returned, Jake sat patiently at the table, gazing through the window. It was raining again.

Jake seemed mesmerized as the rain drops slid down the window slowly. I sat across from him and we watched the rain together. Each drop that landed on the window traveled down the window pane, sometimes running into another drop and morphing into a bigger one. Once they were connected, they never changed, continuing their journey to the bottom of the window. It reminded me of what happened today; I ran into vampire and poof! I'm changed, I don't know what happened, but I was changed and I could never go back. In fact I was still changing; I could feel it. As time wore on, I could feel the wolf in me growing bigger and bigger, as some kind of power intensified. I was a fat rain drop until I got to the end of the window pane. I didn't want to think about what would happen after that...

The loud ding of the oven made me jump. I laughed nervously and got up to take them out. We ate quietly. Not out of awkwardness, but necessity. Neither one of us could talk without spewing food on the table. I had never been hungry like this before! It's like my stomach had turned into a black hole, never ending and never satisfied. It took the term 'Ravenous Wolf' to a whole new level. When we were done, which was after a second batch of pizza rolls, I took our plates and washed them off in the sink.

I turned around. "You're quiet." I eyed Jake carefully. He seemed fine, he just wasn't his talkative self.

He shrugged. "Lets talk, Bella."

"Okay." I walked slowly into the living room, sinking down on the couch. Jake followed, sitting next to me. He was so close our thighs touched, and Jake put his arm around me. I was surprised to find that I didn't have a problem with that.

Jake's eyes scanned mine as he searched for words. Finally, he spoke. "Do you remember today, when you shifted, that . . . feeling when you first looked at me?"

I thought back for a moment. "Yeah. It felt like- like a bunch of strings had been cut or something. Everything had a new focus. It was you... Everything had been retied to you... Like nothing matters to me anymore but you, Jacob. Is that some kind of wolf thing?" I looked up at him, into his big warm eyes. I had always found comfort there.

Jake leaned closer to me. "Kinda. But it's really more of an imprint thing."

"What does that mean?" I asked, confused with his terminology, and more so about the feeling the rooted itself in my chest when he said that word. _Imprint._ It felt old and powerful, and... right.

"When a werewolf finds it's true other half, it's true soul mate, it imprints on that person. It's an unchangeable bond that can never be replaced or removed. It means that... that we were meant to be together."

I wasn't sure how he had managed to put so many powerful words into those three short sentences, but he did. Soul mates... true other half... unchangeable bond... A shiver rolled down my spine and I stiffened for a moment, thinking that maybe I was about to explode into a wolf again, but I didn't, because this was a different feeling. "Oh."

"Bella." Jake brushed his fingers against my face. "We can take it slow, it doesn't mean we have to love each other right away." His face was close to mine. "But it helps. Another part of the imprint is that the person has to be with that other person. It hurts when they're not. And we both imprinted on each other, which makes it even stronger. An imprinted person would do anything for the other, be anything, whether it was a friend, and parent, a mentor, or a lover. Pretty heavy stuff, huh?" He added, like his normal self.

"Seriously heavy, what with exploding into a wolf and finding my soul mate all in one day. Honestly, I just need some sleep. Maybe tomorrow my brain won't feel like it was repeatedly hit with a sledgehammer. We can sort it all out then." I didn't feel like kissing, not here, not now, and my energy had withered to its last amount.

"Alright." Jake smiled and swept me into his arms and promptly over his shoulder.

"Jake!" I squealed as he threw me over his shoulder with ease. "Jacob Black, put me down this instant!" I banged my fists against his rock hard back.

Jake chuckled and carried me up the stairs, but I felt him wince slightly. "Easy there, Bells. Are you trying to kill me?" I was stronger now.

"Not yet, but I will be if you don't put me down!" I exclaimed, squirming under his arm.

"Put you down?" Jake asked innocently. He opened my bedroom door and walked in, pausing by my bed. "Okay!" He let go and I fell onto the bed with a little _thump._

I laughed, something I needed to do. "I can't believe you." I smiled up at him.

"Can't believe what? You'll have to be more specific." He said, his words rhetorical. He lifted the covers and I tunneled my way under them welcoming the unnecessary warmth. He tucked me in like my mom used to do when I was a kid. "Now go to sleep, we have a lot to do tomorrow!" Jake joked with mock seriousness. He lay down on top of the covers next to me and stroked my hair quietly. I relaxed quickly and soon fell into a deep slumber. Jake watched her for a few moments, or at lesat that's what it felt like to him, until he heard Charlie's car in the driveway, and when he couldn't see him, Jake climbed out the window.

**Review and you'll be my bestest friend. If you don't, I'll virtually eat you. *Nom* *Nom* *Nom* **

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	3. Chapter 3: Introduction

**New Chapter! Woot! I think we deserve a cookie. We can has a cookie, pwease?**

_Jake's POV_

I looked one last time at Bella and slid open the window as quietly as I could. I jumped down, landing softly and silently on the grass. I jogged into the woods behind the little house and phased into my wolf form.

I immediately felt the presence of Sam.

_ Hey._ I said, checking to see where he was.

_ How's Bella? _Sam asked.

_ Tired. I explained to her that we had an imprint._

_ Oh. I see. I thought I felt something. _

_Yeah, well we did. She's got the same monster appetite as the rest of us. Don't you think she's taking all of this really well? She didn't even go into shock. Or faint. Or cry, or even scream. _I trotted through the forest quietly, my paw steps muffled by the rain.

_ She's a natural, Jake. She's already almost mastered phasing, and can apparently control herself. We won't even have to hide her from Charlie, I don't think. We're lucky to have her. _

I headed in the direction of the east border, where I could tell Sam was patrolling by himself. _Yeah, she handled it really well. Unlike Quil. _I snickered, remembering Quil's first change. Not only had he gone into shock, then fainted, but when he had woken up, he went on some crazy rampage and almost tore right through the town. If Sam hadn't caught up to him and tackled him unconscious again, our secret would be all over the front page of the newspaper.

Sam chuckled in response. _How could I forget?_

_ Does everyone know yet?_

_ No, but as soon as they phase they're gonna find out. _Sam said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. It kinda was, but still.

_ I bet they're all gonna freak. _I thought sourly.

_ I don't see why. It's just another Quileute teenager turned into a werewolf. _

_ But she's a pale face. _I didn't say it to be mean or anything; it was just true.

_ ...I know._

_What's wrong? _I asked in concern.

_ Jake, what are the chances that after five generations of pale face parents that she would have the gene, and then phase practically right away?_

_ Well, I'm no mathematician but..._

_ I'm not kidding Jacob. Then for her to get phasing down so fast? It took Seth two full days to change back, and Embry took three. Something's going on._

_ She's just a natural, Sam. Maybe it's like atonement or something. She sucks at anything physical normally, and now she's gonna rock at it. It's just evening the scales._

_ Maybe. Who knows. As long as she's safe. It's just odd._

_ I know. But honestly, I'm glad she... joined us._ I admitted, feeling guilty at the thought. Was I really glad that her heritage had ruined her whole life and delivered her straight into my arms. Damn straight I was glad.

_ Joined?_

_ What else do you want me to say?_

_ I suppose there isn't really a better word. Now don't you have a patrol to get off to?_

_ Yes, Sam. I'm on my way. See you later. Tomorrow do you want me to talk to Bella? Or do you want to? Just about the treaty and boundaries and... life style?_

_ She'll probably handle hearing it from you better._

_ Awesome. See you later. _I knew Sam was about to phase back to human and head home. He did just that, and I was left in the darkness.

.::_The Next Morning: Bella's POV_::.

I woke, and my arms and legs felt like lead. I was in my bed, burning up, but the blankets were cast all over the floor. At first I was worried; my head was pounding and I felt dizzy and just... off. I thought for a second that I might have a fever. Then in a rush of shock, which left me gasping, I remembered the previous day. The roaring fire in my veins, the sounds and smells, and who could forget the whole 'I'm a freaking werewolf' thing. I peaked out my window and saw the Charlie's cruiser was already gone, so I closed the blinds and stripped down.

I remembered what Sam had said and felt for the part of me that wasn't me, and let it out. I felt in running through my veins again, and if my mouth had been capable of creating human sounds, I might have screamed. I kept my eyes squeezed shut, hoping maybe it wasn't true. Maybe it was all some kind of crazy dream. But I could feel my legs even as I was on all fours. I was naturally tilting my ears in all directions to capture sounds. I could feel my tail bristled and ram-rod straight. I opened my eyes and I was a wolf.

I sighed, and turned to the body length mirror in the corner of my room, or what would have been body length if I wasn't bigger than a bear. I crouched down so I could see myself. Jake was right. My fur was gleaming white, except on the back where a normal wolf might have black or brown streaks, I had silver streaks. I was shocked, really. I twitched my ears, scrunched up my nose, bared my teeth, but just ended up pinning my hears to my head. That in the mirror was my reflection, the huge beast, that wolf... it was really me.

I sighed, letting all of my breath out through my nose until my lungs were crying for air. Relenting, I gulped in some air, and morphed back into my human form. I noticed it was getting easier every time. It wouldn't always feel so strange then, the feeling of my limbs growing and contorting, so maybe this whole concept would just get easier one day. After all according to Jacob, I was in this for life. _Jacob..._ I thought, my thoughts drifting to him as I grabbed a black tank top and some denim shorts from my drawer.

Apparently, he was my soul mate. He was my perfect fit, the last and only puzzle piece. I was surprised, somewhere deep in my mind, that this made me smile. I liked Jacob, that was for sure. He was funny, nice, considerate, and handsome. Scratch that, he was more than handsome. But I wasn't sure if I was ready to consider soul mate stuff yet. I promised to sort it out later, after I got over the wolf thing.

I took the stairs two at a time, something that would have been sure to land me in the hospital two days ago, but I now did confidently. I was much more surefooted now, and just physically better than before. I'd also have to be sure not to let Charlie touch me, or he'd send me to the hospital for sure with my temperature, which I was sure was over 109 degrees. I was eager to get into the kitchen.

"Hey Bella."

I jumped out of my skin, and almost into my new furry one when I heard a voice behind me. "Jake! You scared the crap outta me!" I gasped, hand flying to my throat.

"Sorry Looka. (**A/N:He called her this in the movie. Ya know; Looker, but Jake-a-fied**). How's the heart?"

"It'll live. But seriously, how'd you get in here? The doors were locked."

He scoffed. "Hah. Locked, schmocked."

"Wow stalker. Come here often?" I said sarcastically, reaching to the freezer, ignoring the deja vu as I pulled out two bags of pizza rolls.

"Nah, but I heard they give out free food so I thought I'd stop by."

"You gotta pay rent first."

"Dang." He said. "Nah, I can work for my food. Give me those." I handed him the icy bags and sat down as he warmed up the oven. While the first batch was cooking we sat down and talked for a while.

"So what'd you do after I fell asleep last night?"

"I went out and ran some patrols. Just from here to Mt. Reiner a few times."

That was huge distance. My eyes went wide and he laughed.

"Bella, we were made to run. I wasn't even tired when I got back, and I must have done, like, seven circuits or somethin'." He said, his voice scoffing, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, sure Jake. Whatever you say." I said quietly.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concern in his voice.

"I don't know if I'm ready for all this stuff. I never wanted this... This is insane. It's impossible and weird and... wrong." I said in one long breath.

Jake's eyes darkened. "None of us wanted this Bella. We were all normal kids too, but now were not. We can't change it, and it is real, so we've just gotta learn to live with. You will too. Now come on, you were acting like such a natural yesterday, where did all this doubt come from?" He asked, his voice changing from heavy and emotional to light and playful by the end of his sentence. Like always, he made me feel better.

"A natural, huh?"

"Yeah. It took Embry three whole days to change back, and Quil almost ran straight through Forks howling his head off. Sam had to knock him unconscious and tie him to a tree, or something like that." He said.

I laughed at that. "Embry? Huh. So who all is in the pack?" I realized that I had no clue how many Quileute kids were actually werewolves, and I couldn't even begin to guess.

"Well, there's Sam, me, you, Jared, Paul, Quil, Embry, Seth, and Leah. And we're keeping a close eye on two other kids who have a really good chance at becoming what we are. Their names are Brady and Colin."

"I see." I said curtly. I was pleased to be able to put faces with the names from all the time I had spent down at La Push.

The oven dinged and I jumped out of my seat, grabbing an oven mitt, and retrieving the pizza rolls from the oven. They scorched our throats, but neither of us cared in our hurry to devour them as fast as possible. It was insanity; no matter how much I ate, I just wanted more and more and more.

"This is crazy!" I said around a mouthful of pizza rolls. "Why am I so hungry?"

Jake's words were distorted as well, and came out as more of a jumble instead of coherent words. "Ish beacush your running on a fashter metabilishim now. You body needsh more food than it ush to." He said.

The plate was emptied far too quickly, and I got up to throw round two into the oven when Jake caught my arm. "Hey, hold up. We gotta go meet up with the others."

"What for?"

"Just to figure out patrols and stuff. Plus, it's better than hanging around the village or going into town."

"I'll take your word for it." I said. To be honest, I was pretty freaked out about meeting the others. It sounded like I was going to meet friends of friends, with the whole 'What if they don't like me?' train of thoughts running through my mind over and over again. Jake must have noticed.

"Chill Looka. You're gonna be normal to them. Just one of us. You'll be fine. The only wolf who would even consider giving you trouble is Leah, and I promise I'll back you up if she get's all pissy. Well, technically she's always pissy, kinda one of those 'I hate the world' people; If she's worse than usual I'll sink a few teeth into her."

I didn't say anything, just dropped my jaw.

"Hey, she deserves more than that half the time. One time she called Quil's mom a slutty whore cause of all those rumors going around. He got so pissed Leah almost had to go to the hospital, and we really can't do that."

"Wow. Note to self: Don't piss off Quil."

"Nah, you can piss him off, just don't talk crap about his Mom. He's kinda sensitive about it. He could be the half brother of me, Embry, or Sam. The kicker is that all of our Dad's were married when his mom came down from the Mahka rez."

I laughed dryly about that. "Wonderful. It's like a soap opera."

"Sure. Now come on. We really have to go now. Here. I brought this for you." He held out a big rubber band to fit around my leg. "You can hold your clothes to your leg with this thing so you don't have to stash them somewhere and go back for them when you want to change back."

"Oh. Thanks. Um, that's... convenient." I said lamely.

"Hey, don't doubt the string."

"Jeez, fine." I said with a laugh.

I scratched a quick note to Charlie telling him I'd be spending the day with Jacob. After I finished that, I followed Jake out to the woods behind my house. The trees seemed so much more alive now that I was looking at them through my new eyes. The wind sounded more musical, and the forest in a whole made me happy. I sighed contentedly.

"Ready?" Jake asked.

"Sure." I crossed my arms in front of me, grabbing the rims of my shirt.

Jake's eyes flashed to my stomach and I released one side of my shirt to motion to him to turn around. He blinked a few times, like he had been broken out of a daze, and twirled around. I did the same. Self consciously, maybe more so on my part, we stripped down and banded our clothes to our leg. I phased, looking down at my leg to make sure the band was still in place. It was. I felt Jake join me, as well as the minds of several others.

_Hey Jake! And... Are you Bella?_ A voice I didn't recognize began a thought and trailed off after he said my name. I could feel his confusion.

_Hey Seth. _Jake said._ Yeah, this is Bella._

_ So you're the prodigy. I'm Jared. _A new voice joined us.

_Hi. _I answered lamely. _Um... Prodigy?_

_ Yeah, Prodigy. You're a freaking pale face, and now you're one of us, then apparently you got the whole phasing thing down pat already. _Seth said.

_Unlike Quil. _Someone said; I wasn't sure who.

_Shut up! It was one freaking time! _That was definitely Quil.

_What ever you say Quil. Where's Leah and Sam? Are they not here yet? _Jake asked, changing a clearly touchy subject.

_Yeah, Sam's on his way. I have no clue where Leah is though. _I recognized this voice. It was Embry.

_Sam better hurry, but I hope Leah takes her sweet time. _That was Quil.

I could hear the guys chuckle. I was confused for a few seconds; she couldn't be that bad could she? I'd forgotten they could hear my thoughts, spoken or otherwise.

_She's earned her reputation, Bella. You'll understand when you meet her._ I was pretty sure that was Paul.

_Wonderful. _I said... well, thought.

We all felt Sam join us then. _Okay, guys. Is everyone here?_

_ Everyone but Leah. _Said Jared.

I could feel Sam's miniscule relief. _Anyone know where she is?_

_ Nope. Probably sleeping in. Unlike the rest of us. Sam, just tell us what we're doing today and we can fill her in later. _Jake said.

_Fine. _Sam replied. _Paul and I are running the town border, Seth and Jared are running the coast,Embry and Quil are running south. Leah can run the north border for being late. Jake, you get Bella used to everything. Tomorrow you're both going to be back on full duty._

A chorus of 'Kay's and Sure's and Fine's rang out in my mind, too jumbled for me to sort out. I shuffled my paws.

_It get's easier._ Jared said in my mind.

_I'll take your word for it._

_ Okay, well, I'm off. _Embry said. _Come on Quil let's get a move on. _

_ Sure thing, but if you try to order me around again, I will rip your fur out._

_ Point taken._

The two wolves took off at a loping pace, but it was still considerably faster than a human could run. The others nodded to us in turn and took off in opposite directions as well. Soon Jake and I were alone. I gouged the ground, bored.

_Hey, phase back to human and we can walk down the beach or something. That way we can talk without all of these rude eavesdroppers. _

Quil spoke._ Ooh. Romantic walk down the beach, eh? The newest imprints gonna go at it?_

_ Do you want to die? _Jake asked, his voice all to serious.

_Jeez, I was just joking man._

I spoke... thought. _Fine, let's go._

Jake turned his back to me and I turned mine to his as we phased back, the sounds of the others snickers running through our heads. I sighed, relieved to be on two feet again and quickly got dressed. The sun was warm on my skin, but strangely, something felt wrong or just absent without the wind rippling the fur along my back. Like I had lost part of me, instead of gaining something unwanted. Maybe Jared was right, maybe it would get easier.

"You done?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, sorry. Hey Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you feel about it?"

"About what?"

"Phasing. What is it like for you?"

"Oh, uh... I don't know. It's just been a part of who I am for a while now' I don't really think about it. Well, when I first changed if felt like I was going to lose the real me, but now when I change back to human, it's like I'm losing a part of me too. The wolf in me _is_ me now. Does that make sense?"

I nodded. "And... I wanna talk about the imprint."

Jake got a sad look on his face. "Are you mad about that?"

"About what? A natural part of who we are that neither of us can change? No."

"Then what about it?"

"What do you want it to be. You said it can be anything."

Jake was silent for a long time, just looking at me. I could see his mind working in overdrive, trying to find the right words. Finally he spoke. "I _really_ like you Bella."

I blinked a few times, than looked at the ground. A smile split across my face, and for a second I wasn't sure why. Then I remembered. This was Jake. _My_ Jake. This was the nice, funny, handsome guy who I'd spent almost all my time in Forks with. This was the guy who really cared a lot about me and really liked me too, apparently. He was my wolfy soul mate. I could definitely do worse.

I looked up at him, and his uneasy look turned into his blinding sun-bright smile when he saw mine. I took two steps, wrapping my arms around his waist. He put one of his hands on my lower back, and then the other on the back of my head, holding me into his rock-hard chest. I felt him relax.

"I guess I really like you, too."

"So where does that leave us?" He asked.

"It's called being in love, stupid."

He smiled.

** Well, we accomplished a lot in this chapter. Bella met the pack and fell in love. *Cue collective 'Awwww's* Anyway, as always, review or I'll virtually eat you. *Nom* *Nom* *Nom* **


	4. Chapter 4: Secrets

**Yay! Chapter 4! Guess what time it is? WINTER BREAK! Squee! That means lots of updates! Marissa is spending Christmas with me this year, so we'll have lots of writing time. Don't forget to review! (:**

_Bella's POV_

Jake and I ambled down the beach quietly, our bare feet leaving a trail of foot prints behind in the wet sand. The gravel sand was as fine as those pure white fake beaches in California, and felt soft beneath my feet. It gave out a pleasant _squesh_ sound every time my toes sunk in. Waves crashed against the shore, running up to swirl around our ankles whenever a particularly big wave would roll in. I looked up at the sky, taking it all in.

Looking through these new eyes, even in my human form, it was only now that I realized how clouded everything had been before. The sky was a deeper blue, the sun was brighter, the woods were no longer hidden in shadows, and my sense of smell was amazing! I could smell the salty ocean and the fish swimming beneath the waves, the sand which struck me as warm and earthy, like sun baked potting soil. The woodsy but still sharp smell of forest made me drowsy and small animals that lurked there, much to my surprise, made my mouth water.

A distant fire burned in a campsite. As we passed a large boulder, I could only describe it's smell as ancient. It had a little bit of everything mixed in, like it had seen a thousand lifetimes and remembered every single one. I could even see the little foreign particles mixed in with the infinite amount of light colored sand, and hear the deep pulse of Jake's heart beating in not only my ears, but my reattached strings had be feeling that same deep thudding somewhere in my soul.

Jake cleared his throat and snapped me out of my observation. "This reminds me of when Charlie and Billy brought us down here one summer." I wasn't sure which time he was talking about, so I waited for him to continue. "It was a long time ago. I think you were twelve and I was ten." I kept my eyes on Jake as we walked. His expression was distant but soft, like he was deep in thought. "We spent the day on the beach while Charlie and Billy went out on their fishing boat. They left us here all freaking day." He laughed dryly.

"I remember that!" I beamed, which might have looked more like a grimace, thinking back to that day. Jake and I had made sand castles, even though we both thought we were too old for it. Jake had made a huge castle, four times the size of mine. It even had a wall surrounding it and a trench that actually worked instead of those lame ones that just melt whenever water rushes in. "I told you it was going to get destroyed!" I laughed, punching him lightly.

Jake grinned. "Yeah, well, I wanted to impress you." That made me laugh a little more. Jake had always had a crush on me, ever since we were little.

"I'm pretty sure I even pointed out a little sign to you that warned about the tide." Right when Jake had added the finishing touch to the top room of the castle, the water came in and washed it away.

"Well, it didn't make sense to me!" Jake defended, chuckling.

"Stupid rising tide." I joined him, laughing until my sides hurt and I was gasping for breath. I wasn't 100% sure why we were laughing so hard, but it felt good to bring back old memories.

"Do you remember my chair?" I gasped suddenly, my face lighting up.

"Yes! How could I forget about that? That stupid thing almost got you killed." Jake almost doubled over laughing, struggling to keep walking with me.

"I spent almost two hours finding the right spot and making sure the tide wouldn't wash it away like you castle. I had it perfectly shaped and packed, and the sand was so warm." I smiled at the memory.

"Yeah, and then when that huge bulldozer came through I had to practically yank you out of the way." Jake coughed from laughing so hard. (**A/N: A quick side note. No, this random bulldozer is not, in fact, as random as one might think. This Actually happened to my partner in crime. She was just sitting on the beach in her comfy sand chair when out of no where this bulldozer pops up and runs the darn thing over. That's why sand castles are better. Castles have cannons.**)

"That thing took me forever!" When Jake had warned me a bulldozer was coming down the beach for god knows what reason, I didn't want to leave my sand chair, so Jacob had to pull me up and we scurried out of the way from the huge wheels. I watched in horror as it ran right over my chair, leaving it into a lump of tire track. "That was not a fun day for us." I laughed harder, tears rolling down my cheeks. Jake began to shake from coughing and stumbled, almost falling face flat into the sand.

Eventually, when our laughter died down, we kept walking, quiet this time.

"Hey, Bella!" I turned to see Mike jogging towards us from farther down on the beech where it was more public and farther away from Quileute land, wearing a tight black and blue surf suit. I couldn't help but think that it would look better on Jake; Mike didn't have the muscles to show it off.

"Hi, Mike. Surfing?" I wasn't prepared for the tight hug he gave me, but I was aware of Jake tense beside me.

"Yeah, I was. Man, you look great." Mike murmured, looking me up and down.

In jeans and a tank top? Sure. "Uh, thanks. How are the waves?" I asked, a little uncomfortable.

"Pretty great actually." Mike did a one up of Jake and took and ever so slight step backwards.

"Well that's good." I smiled despite the large dose of testosterone filling the air.

Mike looked back at me. "Yeah, so how has your summer been so far? What've you been up to?" Mike narrowed his eyes slightly at Jake.

"Oh, just hangin' out. I was working on my heritage project a few days ago." I said casually.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Mike replied, looking away.

I laughed. "Might wanna get a jump on that. It's kinda worth a lot of points." I still needed to add the finishing touches to mine.

"Well, did you find anything interesting?" Mike inched away from Jake and a little closer to me.

Jake and I glanced at each other slyly from the corners of our eyes, a look that I know was not missed by Mike. "Yeah, actually, I'm part Quileute." I said, eager for Mike's response.

"Oh! Really?" Mike looked shocked, giving me a one up again as if he might be able to see something that would show I was Quileute, like feathers sticking out of my head or a bow in my hand.

"Yeah. My great-great-great-great grandpa was half and half of something like that." I repeated what Charlie had said earlier.

"Well that's interesting. I probably won't find much on me." Mike smoothed out a wrinkle on his suit, apparently looking for a distraction. "So, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to hang out sometime this week?"

"I don't think I can. I'm totally booked." I said, acting disappointed.

"That's too bad." Mike glared at Jake, like it was his fault.

"So, um, have you guys met?" I asked, trying to break up the testosterone fest that was taking place.

"No, I don't think we have." Mike replied stiffly.

"Oh, well Mike, this is my friend Jake, Jake this is Mike." I said awkwardly. They nodded curtly at each other.

"So what about next week, are you busy then?" Mike asked, not easily deterred, even though Jake was giving him a death glare that was clear even to me that Mike should back off unless he wanted his nose broken. Maybe it was a new wolf thing, but their body language was screaming 'Fight'.

"Uhh-" Mike started to scramble for another date.

"Dude, she turned you down, get over it." Jake interrupted.

"Hey, last time I checked, you didn't decide who Bella hangs out with! Why don't you back off?" Mike retorted, almost reaching a shout. You had to give him points for bravery. Mike was no midget, but Jake was a monster (Literally). Jake stepped forward, closing the space between them quickly, clenching his fist.

"Stop!" I shoved between then, pushing both of them back with hard flat palms to their chests, the kind of hit that was supposed to hurt. Unfortunately for Mike, I wasn't used to my new strength yet. Mike stumbled back onto his butt, winced, and rubbed his chest.

"Jeesh Bella. When'd you get so strong? No need for the violence." Mike got back to his feet and stepped towards me. "Its kind of a turn on." He murmured, reaching for my arm.

I could hear Jake stifle a furious growl. "Do I have to write it on your forehead, white meat? Get the hell away from her!" Jacob pushed Mike, and he stumbled backwards. I could smell the anger coming off of Jake's skin, and I rested my hand on his arm, trying to calm him down. If he mauled Mike, I was sure that Sam would _not _be happy.

"Jacob!" I cried. "Knock it off!" Jake looked away and took a step back.

I helped Mike up from the sand. He clutched my hand a little too long after he was on his feet, but I let it slide. "I'm so sorry, Mike. I don't know if I can hang out this summer."

"Whatever." He mumbled, glaring darkly at Jake. "I'll see you around." He stalked down the beach, heading in the direction of the parking lot. I had to admit, I felt terrible.

"Jacob Black!" I turned on him and slapped his chest. He replied with a slight grunt.

"What? He was all over you Bells!" He rubbed his arm and looked towards Mike.

"Jacob, you should know better than to be all jealous and stuff. Mike is just a friend, for heavens sake! You're acting like a two year old." I began walking away, in the opposite direction Mike had gone.

"But Bella, we're imprinted!" Jake protested.

"You think I don't know? I can feel it. I know it's there, and I have absolutely no interest in anyone else now. But if you're gonna act like this around every guy I talk to, I'm not sure if this is gonna work." I replied coldly.

"I'm sorry. Really. But I can't help what this makes you feel. I don't know what it's like for you, but for me, this is a wolf thing. I don't wanna go all over-protective jerk on you, but in my mind, you're mine now. I'm yours. I don't want to share. For me, it's just us." Jake said slowly, as if he were just now coming to terms with his emotions..

"I don't know if I'm ready for that yet, especially after growing up with a mom that would rather I boil live puppies than get in a serious relationship before I'm eighty." I replied shaking my head as I walked.

Jake looked horrified when I said 'Boiling live puppies' and I realized that might not have been the best choice of words. He shook his head and turned, jogging after me as he spoke. "I think you are ready Bella, especially because of this imprint. You just need something to help you realize that once and for all." Suddenly I felt him grab my wrist and turn me around, crushing his lips onto mine.

The kiss was rough at first, and I tried to pull away, but Jake was still stronger than me, and he pulled me into him. I relaxed as I let his warm scent take over me and fog my thoughts, making me think of only him. His face, his touch, his taste, his warmth. I began to kiss him back, moving my lips with his, my arms pressing him into me.

We pulled away and gasped for breath. "I suppose you might have a point." I said with an amused but small smile on my face.

"Imprinted?" He asked.

I knew he was asking for more than that. He was asking for something that was greater than marriage. He was asking for me. He was asking for my soul, but it was already his, and his was already mine. I could feel that these new strings in me went straight from me and into him. I knew if I stretched those strings too far, it wouldn't work. I knew I needed to be near him always. Always. "Imprinted." I agreed.

For the rest of the day, we walked along the beach, Jake telling me about the treaty and stories about the pack. He even told me a few ancient stories and legends. I enjoyed hearing about the history of the Quileutes and found myself wanting to learn even more.

"You should probably be getting home; Charlie will get back from work soon." Jake said, putting his arm around me.

"Alright." I replied reluctantly. Surprisingly, I found myself welcoming Jacob's arm around me, it felt. . . right.

We walked into the woods and phased without looking at each other.

_Jacob!_ I heard Sam's voice.

_Bella!_ said Quil.

_Embry!_ That was Embry.

_Shut up Embry._ Quil countered.

_Shut up Embry!_ Embry mocked in a high pitched girly voice.

_I will take you down._ Quil said, reminding us all of some little kid who just got his Tonka Truck taken away.

_Hah. Bring it, sister!_ Embry retorted.

They began their tussle, snapping at each other and tearing down bushes in their path. They must have been close by because I could hear the sound of them outside of my thoughts.

_I'm just taking Bella home. _Jacob told Sam as we trotted towards my house.

_Did you enjoy your day off? _Sam asked, mentally scowling at Quil and Embry.

_Yeah._ Jake smiled cockily.

_Hmm._ Sam replied. He probably knew about us kis- oh yeah.

_I do now. _Sam laughed and I felt my large ears get hot. Jake joined him, which made me even more embarrassed.

_Hey, it's all good Bella. _Jake thought.

_Uh-huh. _I said, unconvinced and still blushing.

_So what do you think about everything?_ Sam asked, changing the subject quickly.

_I think it's amazing and- and special, and cool. _Sam laughed.

_I suppose that's a way to put it._ Before I could be embarrassed again, I noticed we were almost to my house.

_Whelp, time to go._ Jake said, slowing to a stop.

_Bye._ I told Sam.

_See you tomorrow morning. _Sam replied.

I pulled my inner self in, feeling the cracks and pops of my joints as I went human. It actually felt nice, like cracking your back after sitting still for a long time. I closed my eyes and rolled my neck to loosen it up.

"Done?" Jake snatched me out of my relaxed state.

"No!" I squealed, snatching my clothes from the band around my ankle.

"Okay, okay." He stayed facing away from me as I slipped on my clothes.

"Alright lets go." I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the back yard.

"Charlie's not home yet." I observed without even seeing if his car was there yet. I could just tell.

"Yeah." I dropped Jake's hand and walked through the back door. "I'm gonna go change."

"Can I come?"

"No."

Jake smiled. "'Kay."

I rushed up the stairs and changed my clothes, taking in the smell on the laundry detergent and warm fuzzy feeling I got when I put on my red sweater.

When I slid into the kitchen, Jake was making pizza rolls, our new favorite food.

"Mmm." I sat down at the table, bit into a pizza roll, and picked up a newspaper. "Four dead: Cedar Spring police frantic." I read the title out loud as Jake closed the oven.

"What?" He spun around and was at my side in a split second, scanning the article quickly. "I don't think it means anything, Cedar Springs has a high crime level."

I shrugged. "Whatever. You should tell Sam anyway, just in case."

Jake laughed. "Bella, if I told Sam about every murder in the newspaper, I think he would get annoyed."

"I suppose." I replied laughing, but I still didn't have a good feeling about it. Newb wolf or not.

After our snack, we settled down on the couch and watched SpongeBob. It was dark outside and the TV cast a dull glow across the room. I snuggled close to Jake, who was more than eager to put his arm around me.

I knew it would bring up problems, but I spoke anyway. "I think I should tell Charlie." I murmured.

Jake looked down at me and shook his head. "You can't."

"Jake, I have to! I can't just go on lying to him every day. He's gonna find out soon enough anyway. The growth, the temperature, the appetite? He'll notice." I protested.

"I'm not so sure Bella. Don't say anything yet; wait longer."

"But he'll know something is up right away." I bit my lip, wanting to get up but feeling stuck.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him; this is the whole pack's secret. It belongs to us and our ancestors only. And yeah, Charlie's Quileute too, but he isn't one of us. Sam made the rule: No on can know but us." Jake held me closely, not wanting to let go.

"Fine. How long do I have to wait?" I challenged, looking into his eyes defiantly.

"That might not even be part of it. Sam can give gag orders. If he tells you you can't, you will be physically unable to tell anyone. When Embry first changed, every night he snuck out for his patrols and every night his mom would come in and he wouldn't be there. Every morning he caught hell, and we all wanted Sam to let him tell, but Embry thought the pack secret was more important." Jake looked at the TV.

I continued to glare at him, burning him with my steady gaze. "I'm not Embry. You know how much I hate lies."

Jake wouldn't meet my eyes for a while. I could feel it through my imprint that my pain was hurting him too, and guilt washed through me. He finally looked back down. "I'm sorry Bella, we'll have to ask Sam what he thinks tomorrow. For now, you'll have to keep it a secret."

"Fine." I grimaced, looking at the TV.

"I'm sorry, I know it's hard." He stroked my shoulder.

"No you don't. Billy was there to help you." I pouted, crossing my arms.

"Well, then I can imagine it's hard."

"It is."

Jacob chuckled, shaking my smaller torso. "You haven't even seen Charlie since you changed. How would you know?"

"'Cause I say so."

"That doesn't make any sense."

I looked at him like he had lost his mind. "Two days ago I ran into a vampire at an auto shop, then I burst into a giant freaking wolf, and now I can run and hear things better and go all furry and read minds, and you think my logic doesn't make sense?"

He blinked a few times. "Feisty, aren't you?"

"You better get used to it mister soul mate." I replied sarcastically.

"Well, I like em' sassy." Jake pulled me up, holding me into him. "I love you, Bella Swan."

I searched his eyes, trying to read into his emotions. His eyes held warmth, and comfort, and I couldn't stop the feeling that deep down, I belonged with him, no matter what. My soul yearned for him, and I wanted to be closer, I felt like I couldn't get close enough. I wanted to be a part of him. I wanted to share every thought, every memory, every minute with him until the day I died, and I knew Jacob felt the same way.

"I love you, too, Jacob Black." I rested my head against his chest, listening to his quiet heart beat. I breathed in his scent, the same it had been all my life. It was like home for me, filling me with so many memories I felt overwhelmed.

Jake ran a hand through my hair and cupped my face in his big hand. I looked up at him again, watching him, scanning his eyes, noting every movement, every breath. I reached up and stroked the side of his face once. I leaned up and kissed him, feeling his eager breath against my cheeks.

His lips moved with mine and it felt so perfect, like we were made just for each other. I had never kissed a guy before today, and I didn't have much confidence when it came to guys. I was sure that Jake was the same, but he seemed to be a lot more sure of himself then I did. The kiss was meaningful but short; I heard tires on the driveway.

I pulled away. "Charlie's here." I peeled myself off of Jake and slunk down next to him, right as Charlie opened the front door.

"Oh. Hey kids." I twisted around to look at him.

"Hey Dad. How was your day?" I asked casually, as if I hadn't been sucking face five seconds ago.

"Good." He said taking off his belt and hanging it up. "Had to help some cops up in Cedar Springs."

"Oh, yeah. I saw that in the newspaper." I replied looking back at the TV.

"Yep, they need all the help they can get right now." Charlie said, walking over to the stairs slowly. I watched as he disappeared upstairs before turning to look back at the TV.

It was quiet for a few minutes, so I, knowing Charlie couldn't hear us, brought the secret back up. "I still want to tell him. Really bad." I murmured.

"No, Bella! You seriously can't. Please, just promise you you'll wait, OK?" Jake looked at me carefully.

"I will, I will." I hated hiding things from Charlie and I was terrible at lying. "I just- the whole being a werew-"

"Shh." Jake put a finger over my lips when Charlie came back down the stairs, this time wearing pajama pants and an undershirt.

"Do you want me to make you something to eat, dad?" I asked, trying to get up.

"Nah, you just watch TV. I can feed myself." Charlie called from the kitchen.

I sunk back down onto the couch and picked up the remote, flipping through the channels.

"Here, find something." I gave the remote to Jake who settled on a show about bizarre foods. On the screen, a man was shown with a steaming plate of llama testicles.

I laughed. "Jake, why would you want to watch this?"

He shrugged. "You never know, you might like it."

Charlie came in then, holding an egg and cheese sandwich.

"That was quick." I said as he plopped down on the recliner.

"I've fixed eggs for thirty years of my life." He said matter of factly.

"What?" I asked.

"Hm?" He looked up, a piece of egg on his mustache. "There something you want to tell me Bells?"

"W-what?" How would he know already?

"Sheesh, I'm just playin' with you. Now hand me the remote."

I looked at the TV right as a picture of deep fried pig genitals appeared.

"What in God's name are you two watching?" He mumbled as Jake laughed.

**¡ʇı op oʇ ʍoɥ noʎ ɥɔɐǝʇ ʇsnɾ ʇɥƃıɯ ı ʍǝıʌǝɹ noʎ ɟı ¿****ן****ooɔ sıɥʇ ʇ,usı ʎǝɥ**

**So review!! Love you guys!**

**- M&M**


	5. Chapter 5: First Fight

**Here we are… time for a Friday night smack down! **

The next day, Jake said we were going to spend the day down on the rez, that we would have two patrols and the rest of the day be on duty in case someone found something, in which case we would be required to go helter-skelter bat out of hell to go find them and rip up some vamp. Well, in his words at least.

Jake came to get me once Charlie had left, rapping several times at my window, than just hurling himself right up. Then he stole some more of our food, and we were out the back door, into the woods. Phasing came easy now; it was no longer like I was going to lose myself to the wolf. The wolf was just part of me now. It was as real and there and a part of me as my arms or legs or hair. And I was glad.

Once we had phased and started running towards the meeting space, I felt almost everyone's consciousness, except Leah's. _Where is she?_

_Oh, um, she's..._ Jake was trying to blank out his mind so I couldn't tell what was going on.

_Is something wrong?_ I was worried that maybe she was hurt or something.

Quil mentally scoffed. _Hah. See. Leah doesn't deserve this._

_Quil. Now is not the time._ Sam said.

_No way Sam. You see how nice Bella is? She's worried something is wrong with Leah, and Leah is at home-_

_At least let me tell her, if any one is going to._ Jake said, and Quil quieted.

_Bella, Leah isn't happy that you've joined the pack. She's upset that you're pretty much a pale face, that your such a natural at this, and that we've imprinted. Shes kind of on strike. _

_Oh..._ Was all I could really say, but my mind was in overdrive. So what, third day in the pack and I already have everyone all fired up. I knew this was bad, I wasn't meant to fit in here. I was ruining everything, like I always did. Maybe...

Sam cut off my thoughts. _Bella, don't beat yourself up because Leah is jealous._

_But it's my fault she's causing problems._

_No, it's Leah's fault that she's such a-_ Quil started to say, but Sam growled harshly, cutting him off.

_Regardless, she has to be here for patrols, so someone needs to go get her. _Sam said, and everyone took a mental step backwards.

_OK, then I'm nominating Jared and Paul. _Sam said.

Jared said _Oh, come on! I don't wanna go drag that Medusa out of her cave. Make Seth do it. At least he's related to her!_

_No way. I know better than to cross my sister on one of her bad streaks. Alpha's orders, have fun Jared. _Seth said with a throaty chuckle.

_Dammit. _Paul said as he stalked off towards Leah's house.

It was a few moments of silence before Embry said _OK, I gotta see this._

_Yeah, let's see how well Paul fights against Leah. Ten bucks on my sister. _Seth agreed. We could all feel Paul's anger through the link, but he said nothing.

Those two raced off after Paul and Jared, with Quil quick to follow. Jake just looked at me and I shrugged, and we took off after, with Sam sighing and following at a slower pace. Jake and I ran side by side, our minds melting into an imprinted harmony. We fell step for step in line, keeping the same pace, thinking the same thoughts.

Leah's house was set with a large meadow in front, and backed by the forest, with a small creek running through that about forty feet from the house. We came up through the woods, and Seth raised his nose to the air.

_Mom's not there. Just Leah. I can't hear anyone else around._

_Since we're all here Sam...? _Embry asked, though I wasn't sure what his question was. The rest of the pack chimed in with their own begging.

_Guys, I really don't think-_

_Quick! Before he says no!_ Embry mentally yelled.

He sprung towards the base of the house, and began a frantic barking-yip-howl while quickly digging at the base of the house. Seth and Paul were quick to join in, followed by Quil, Jared, Sam, and Jake. I sat in the background laughing. The cacophony was incredible. The baying whines and howls of the wolves made something inside me stir, and I felt the need to join them. The wolf inside me sensed the hunt of the rest of the pack, being so close to what they were trying to flush out, I too wanted to join in.

Suddenly, a copper brown figure hurled open a window and heaved herself up onto the roof. No human could have done so, so none of us were surprised when our eyes focused in to see Leah leering down at us. Quil jumped up, pretending to nip at her heels, and quick as a striking snake, she lashed her foot out, and it hit home right across his cheek. Quil yipped like a puppy when you step on it's paws and fell back. When he righted himself, he was growling at her under his breath.

Leah spoke. "What the hell do you want? All of you are obviously too thick to notice that I just want you all to _leave me the hell alone_."

Sam, not able to actually speak to her, just shook his head, looking pointedly up at her.

"I don't want anything to do with any of you, especially not your new prodigy." Leah's eyes had sifted through the crowd, flicking quickly to where I sat. She fell quiet, just glaring at me.

As a human, her glare would mean nothing more than that she disliked me, but my wolf side knew what she was telling me. I felt the instincts deep inside me, feeling the challenge pull deep at my soul. She might have been in a human form, but she still had the eyes of a wolf, and I knew exactly what they were saying: You're nothing, I'm above you, I own you. I heaved up to my feet, the stiff fur on my neck raising. I braced my feet around be, and pulled my lips back in a feral snarl, a harsh growl I would never have guessed I could make poured from between my teeth.

Leah, growled too. I could feel the heat coming off of her body, as she prepared to accept my challenge. She lept from the roof, and the boys below her hastily scrambled out of her way. They all backed up, forming a sort of circle around us. Leah, though still very much human, was looking more and more like a wolf just in the way she held herself. She spoke.

"You. What do you think you're doing here?"

I scoffed at her, rolling my eyes. I wanted to scream at her that I was just like the rest of them, but she wouldn't understand a word I said.

"You're a pale face, not one of us. You don't even have the right to be a wolf. Don't have a right to have anything to do with the pack."

My growl deepened, bubbling with so much anger and rage, that some of the wolves in the circle took a few steps back. Leah just laughed.

"Oh no! I'm so scared! What do you think you're doing? You know how to do all of this already? Well, I suppose you would, being Sam's new favorite prodigy. Such a natural." She was almost yelling now, her rage spiking. I could see her form start to shimmer. "And then, the unworthy pale-face goes and get's herself imprinted, first thing. Well congratulations." And then the wolf in her burst forwards.

With her in this form, I could feel the true potency to her rage, but had no time to process it, because as soon as all four of her paws where firmly on the ground, she launched herself at me. Leah hit me like a ton of bricks, barreling me over onto my back. I was startled, to say the least, and floundered on my back before I could right myself onto my feet, but by then she had spun back to face me again, and was ready to go at me again. I whirled away from her, trying to get far enough away from her to collect my thoughts, but she didn't allow me that luxury. She lept forward and nipped the back of my heel.

I yelped in pain as I felt her teeth sink into my skin. My leg gave out beneath me, and I fell to the ground once again. My momentum sent me rolling once more as I fell. But suddenly, I felt all of my muscles working at once, all at the same time. I felt my tendons contract and my muscles bend in time with my legs and spine. I felt my paws, each one distinctly placed, and the smallest twitch would alter the total balance of my body.

Each small movement shifted everything; everything was important. One shift of my tail would send me off to the side, if I sent out one front paw and pushed I would correct my fall and in turn move in that direction. It wasn't complex, but it was hard to understand as I was forced to get used to this body in a way that I'd never had to use it before. I wasn't a human, so I shouldn't be in the mindset of fighting like a human. I was a wolf, so I had to fight like a wolf. I let the human part of me sink down into my consciousness, and let my instincts bubble forth, and then it was like my body was moving by itself, and I was just along for the ride.

This whole thought process had only lasted for mere seconds, and I was still in the final rolls of my last fall. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Leah tense all of her muscles, preparing to spring at me once more. I felt the balance of my body shift in accordance to where my limbs and tail were, so as soon as everything was in line, I heaved up to my feet, and whirled on her, snarling once more. This brought her up short, brought everyone up short. I felt Jake's worry in particular, and I knew everyone else had expected me to continue rolling and expected Leah to end the fight quickly.

But instead, I was up and ready, and I knew what I was doing. I waited for her to do something, but instead she began to taunt me again.

_Oh, so now you know everything? You think you know what you're doing?_

_Coming from you! You must think so too, seeing as you stopped fighting. Scared?_ I fired back.

_You wish. Why would I be scared of a newbie paleface like you?!_

_Why would you call me that when, obviously, I'm Quileute enough, because I'm just like you. I'm just as wolf as you, not any worse. Maybe better, but nothing less than you are. Just because you're angry that I took hold of this so quickly and imprinted doesn't give you the right to take it out on me._

_But it's your fault! Everything was almost okay and then you come along and stirred everything up again! And it just tops the cake that you imprinted. What's so wrong with me, huh? Why should you get everything and I get nothing?!_

_You think I wanted this? You think I wanted to blow up into a giant wolf without any warning or idea of what was going on? My whole freaking life was changed in a split second and there's nothing I could do about it. It's even worse that I can't tell my dad, so why don't you shut the hell up out things not being _far_ because I won't hear it. _ I was more angry than I had ever been before in my life.

Never before had I felt the urge to rip someone's head off of their shoulders quite like I wanted to do to Leah. Anything to make her voice stop, to get it out of my head where it didn't belong. I wanted it to stop more than anything else in the world. I just wanted her to go away. I was shaking again, and then, miraculously, I felt something click inside my head, and it was quiet at last. I could sill hear Leah's furious snarling, could still hear the howls and yips from the boys in the circle, but inside my head, it was silent. Soon the clearing was silent as well, as everyone realized what had happened.

Then a laugh rang out through the clearing. It was harsh and wolfy but anyone would be able to hear the amusement in it. I belatedly realized it was me. By now, Leah had recovered from her shock, and my laughed seemed to infuriate her. She lunged at me, but my newly discovered instincts had me briskly side-step, tilting my tail just so that I wouldn't lose my footing as I whirled at just the right moment to rear and slam down just at the moment when Leah was under my paws.

She yelped and fell to the ground, rolling away from me. I was locked onto her now; I made sure she had no time to regain her footing as I pummeled her over and over with my paws. She rolled along the ground until her back struck against a rotting stump where she came to a halt. I lept onto her flank and grasped her scruff, my teeth gripping just enough skin and biting down just hard enough to make her whine slightly.

Her eyes were still throwing daggers at me, but she knew that if she made one move against me, I would bite now on her soft neck-skin. She went limp under me and I stepped backwards, never looking away from her. She rolled onto her feet, her gaze murderous, but her ears were pressed flat against her head, tail tucked between her legs, and fur laying flat. I had won. I felt for the switch that had seemed to turn off everyone else's thoughts and tentatively let them back in my head.

It was shocked silence, then one voice. It was Quil.

_Damn..._

**Haha, you gotta love Quil. So what did you think? REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! **

**-M&M**


	6. Chapter 6: Revelation

**Alright, you guys are truly awesome for waiting so long! We love you! So here is your surprise. To write upside down go here: ****.com/**** Have fun with that and reading your long awaited update! This chapter is dedicated to crimson-goth-girl because she made us laugh about "chappys". Thank you crimson-goth-girl for making this chappy fun to write. (:**

**-M&M**

.:Previously on Heritage:.

_ But instead, I was up and ready, and I knew what I was doing. I waited for her to do something, but instead she began to taunt me again._

Oh, so now you know everything? You think you know what you're doing?

Coming from you! You must think so too, seeing as you stopped fighting. Scared? _I fired back._

You wish. Why would I be scared of a newbie paleface like you?

Why would you call me that when, obviously, I'm Quileute enough, because I'm just like you. I'm just as wolf as you, not any worse. Maybe better, but nothing less than you are. Just because you're angry that I took hold of this so quickly and imprinted doesn't give you the right to take it out on me.

But it's your fault! Everything was almost okay and then you come along and stirred everything up again! And it just tops the cake that you imprinted. What's so wrong with me, huh? Why should you get everything and I get nothing?

You think I wanted this? You think I wanted to blow up into a giant wolf without any warning or idea of what was going on? My whole freaking life was changed in a split second and there's nothing I could do about it. It's even worse that I can't tell my dad, so why don't you shut the hell up out things not being far because I won't hear it_. __I was more angry than I had ever been before in my life._

_ Never before had I felt the urge to rip someone's head off of their shoulders quite like I wanted to do to Leah. Anything to make her voice stop, to get it out of my head where it didn't belong. I wanted it to stop more than anything else in the world. I just wanted her to go away. I was shaking again, and then, miraculously, I felt something click inside my head, and it was quiet at last. I could sill hear Leah's furious snarling, could still hear the howls and yips from the boys in the circle, but inside my head, it was silent. Soon the clearing was silent as well, as everyone realized what had happened._

_Then a laugh rang out through the clearing. It was harsh and wolfy but anyone would be able to hear the amusement in it. I belatedly realized it was me. By now, Leah had recovered from her shock, and my laughed seemed to infuriate her. She lunged at me, but my newly discovered instincts had me briskly side-step, tilting my tail just so that I wouldn't lose my footing as I whirled at just the right moment to rear and slam down just at the moment when Leah was under my paws._

_She yelped and fell to the ground, rolling away from me. I was locked onto her now; I made sure she had no time to regain her footing as I pummeled her over and over with my paws. She rolled along the ground until her back struck against a rotting stump where she came to a halt. I lept onto her flank and grasped her scruff, my teeth gripping just enough skin and biting down just hard enough to make her whine slightly._

_Her eyes were still throwing daggers at me, but she knew that if she made one move against me, I would bite now on her soft neck-skin. She went limp under me and I stepped backwards, never looking away from her. She rolled onto her feet, her gaze murderous, but her ears were pressed flat against her head, tail tucked between her legs, and fur laying flat. I had won. I felt for the switch that had seemed to turn off everyone else's thoughts and tentatively let them back in my head._

_It was shocked silence, then one voice. It was Quil._

Damn...

Leah sprinted off, leaping into the shadows.

_ Bella._ I peeled my eyes away from where Leah had escaped, and looked to see Jake trotting over to me.

_ How did you do that?_ Everyone broke the circle and came closer, awestruck.

_ I-I'm not exactly sure.. I guess I just got the hang of it and st-_

_ No. I mean, how did you block us out? _He interrupted, his voice intrigued.

_ Yeah. It was like you were talking and then it just cut off. _Seth said.

_ I don't know. It was loud, and then it felt like something just.. clicked. And it was silent._ Everyone was quiet, taking this in.

_ Can you do it again?_ Sam asked.

_ I can try.. _I closed my eyes, trying to focus solely on my mind. _You guys need to talk. _

_ Penis! _I heard Embry's voice first.

_ Wow, really Embry? _Jared laughed.

That got everyone going, talking about random things. I focused on my mind again, centering on my wolf part, and then on my pack itself. Their voices filled my head, and then, just like that, I pushed them back, farther in my head. Silence, and that was it. I looked up. Everyone stared at me, eyes big. I pulled them back. _I did it!_

_ Whoa._

_ Bella's sexy!_

_ Jeez! _

_ How?_

_ Dang. _

I shook my head._ Its like when you're shifting. I just pushed you guys back, just like my other side. _I explained.

_ Can you push everyone out but one person? Or two? _Sam asked.

_Uh. _I was unsure, and I didn't really want to make a fool of myself in front of everyone._ I'll try it. _I said.

_ Push out Seth! _Jared suggested.

_ Hey! _Seth exclaimed.

_ I'll push out everyone but Sam. _

Again, I focused on everyone's thoughts, and then only on Sam's. Cutting his out from the others, like the cookie cutters I used to play with at my grandma's house. I pictured drawing a circle around Sam, and singled his out, pushing away everything outside the circle.

_ Can you hear me? _I almost whispered.

_ Yes, but I can still hear the others, and they can hear me.. Seth says hi._

_ Hey Seth. _I laughed.

_ Bella this is truly amazing. _Sam declared.

_I'm still a little confused on why this happened to me of all people. _

_ Me too. _Sam replied.

_ Jacob says to try and pull him into the conversation with us._

_ Okay._

I focused on Jacob and Sam. Thinking of how their voices sounded, and imagined switching off everyone but them.

_ Bellaaa! _Jake exclaimed, giving me a big mental hug.

_ I'm still here too. _Sam stated.

_ No, Embry, I will not. _Jake growled.

_ I'm gonna bring everybody back now. _

_ Alright. _Jake said.

And just like that, I brought them back, pulling them into my mind. Excitement coursed through me, making me shiver. Everyone's stoked thoughts raced through my head. Jake sat close by, watching me, smiling a wolfy smile. My heart flew as I smiled back.

The rest of the day we ran our patrols, everyone wanting me to use my new found power at random points of the day. I did so willingly, accepting the practice with welcome arms. I had to admit, it was fun, but I didn't like all the attention.

By the end of the day, I was exhausted as Jacob and I ran to my house. We left the clearing, my paws dragging as we took off. Halfway home, I tripped a fallen tree, my huge figure crashing to the ground. I skidded over a small tree and landed harshly on my neck. I looked up at the pink sky, Jake's head trotted over me, the sky disappearing.

_ You okay?_ He panted down at me.

_ Maybe my body, but not my pride._ Jake chuckled and nudged me up.

_ Up ya go._ He said.

I grunted in response.

_ Not much further now, Bells._

We trotted the rest of the distance slowly, jumping things in unison, falling into step with each other without much thought.

Charlie wasn't home yet, so when we arrived at my house Jake followed me through the back door.

"I'm gonna go change." I muttered over my shoulder.

"Okay." He replied, opening the fridge.

I dragged myself up the stairs and into my room. As I picked out my clothes, I took into account that there was a very sexy Jake waiting in my kitchen. So instead of my usual baggy night shirt, I slipped a light blue cami over my head. Then I replaced my dirty shorts with my favorite pair of pajama pants. I checked my reflection in the mirror carefully before starting down the stairs.

Jake was cooking eggs as I turned the corner.

"You can never go wrong with a good old egg sandwich." I smiled.

"Or a few." Jake replied, adding two more. I laughed and wrapped my arms around him, suddenly in want of attention. _As if I haven't had enough today. _But I pushed that thought away as Jake turned towards me, bending down to kiss my lips.

As we had contact, my whole body tingled, not only our bodies but minds melting together. This imprint could be more then I could handle sometimes, but I still liked it. I knew Jake felt it too, because he opened his mouth, welcoming my tongue. He backed me against the refrigerator gently, yet somehow still knocking a few magnets down in the process. I ran my hands through his hair, pressing him into me. It felt so right, I was barely even self conscious anymore. The smell of smoke began to fill my nostrils.

"Shit." Jake pulled away and grabbed the spatula, flipping the eggs quickly. I laughed at this picture, holding my stomach as Jake smiled over at me.

"I can still save them!" He exclaimed, opening the cabinet with one hand and snatching the plate on the top of the stack. He quickly slapped them onto the plate as my laughter slowly died off to a giggle.

"There." He said, looking down at the eggs. They were only slightly brown. I chuckled and grabbed two forks. We inhaled the food like it was our job, the eggs burning my throat, but I didn't care; I was so hungry. Charlie came home shortly after our second round of eggs. I went to be almost immediately, wanting to avoid my dad at all costs, because I couldn't trust myself. If I slipped up, if I told Charlie, everything I had built up in the pack would be destroyed.

The next morning, Jake came over early. I found him in my kitchen making pizza rolls. After we ate, we headed out to meet for patrols.

_Sam, can I talk to you?... In person? _I asked as Jake and I bounded through the woods. Jake gave me a sidelong glance.

_Sure Bella, after I assign patrols. _I was a little nervous to talk to Sam, but at the same time I knew this needed to be done.

We were quickly approaching the clearing where we met every morning to meet up and divvy out patrols and other miscellaneous jobs. Everyone was already there; Embry and Quil play fighting, nearly plowing over Leah who sat off away from the others, looking bored and angry. Everyone else was either lying in the warm sun or sitting anxiously. Jake veered right to join Quil and Embry in their fight. I rolled my eyes and sat down, waiting for Sam to speak.

When he did, everyone gathered obediently to listen. _We're going to use the same borders we used yesterday._

When everyone dispersed and hurried away, Sam turned his back to me. I did the same, shifting into my human form almost reluctantly. I immediately gathered my thoughts on how I was going to go about saying this.

"Done?" I heard Sam's deep voice.

"Yeah." I turned around at the same time he did.

"What's bothering you Bella?" He asked, taking in my worried expression.

"I want to tell Charlie." I announced promptly.

Sam's response was a sigh. He turned and walked slowly towards the big boulder that we always sat on.

"I've been afraid of this, Bella." I swallowed, nodding slowly.

"I can't keep secrets from my dad, Sam…. It's just too hard. Especially when it's something this big."

Sam leaned against the huge rock, looking at the tree tops. "I've already been thinking about it." I wasn't sure if this was good or bad. I studied his face, worn and tired. "And I'm still not sure whether or not to let you do that." I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off. "I need more time to think about this Bella. It's a bigger deal then you may think it is. I know it's hard, but you can't tell him yet."

"Okay." I replied, slightly disappointed.

"Let's get going. We have a patrol to do." He smiled at me, and I smiled back, but I think he knew that it was forced.

We flew through the forest, springing over logs and vaulting ditches. Halfway along the border Sam slowed down, his nose taking in the scents of the forest. I did the same, wondering what was wrong. I could smell a deer, not far off to my right, a small vole scampering quickly away. What I could smell after that made me tense, a flash of bronze hair and black eyes lingered quickly in my mind before disappearing. Sam looked at me, confirming my fears.

_Vampires. _He growled.

A chorus of _what_s and _huh_s followed from the rest of the pack.

_Bella, keep down and stay quiet. _I nodded at him, excitement bubbling up in my stomach. We crept forward, staying in the shadows, our senses heightening from the adrenaline rush. Then, I saw them; seven figures not 50 feet from the border, sitting and standing, almost as if they were waiting.

_They are. _Sam told me.

_Everyone abandon their patrols, and come quickly. _Sam commanded, backing quietly deeper in the woods.

_We'll wait until they're close, Bella. _He told me calmly.

_Okay. _ I wasn't sure if he was talking about the rest of the pack, or the vampires.

_The pack._ Sam murmured.

_Oh._ I replied, embarrassed.

When they were close enough that I could hear them with my ears and not just my mind, Sam flicked his tail at me, signaling for me to follow. My body trembled with excitement, my limbs itching to run, fight, anything but trot calmly behind him. Unfortunately, that's exactly what I had to do.

Sam broke into a slow run, jumping over a small bush thing into the meadow. I followed, judging the distance perfectly, and landing right next to him. We slowed to a walk as the vampires stood, watching us carefully. Their scent grew stronger and more pungent, burning my nose. We stopped about 10 feet away from them, Sam waiting for one to speak. I tried to look aggressive, and bit back a wolfy laugh as a small vamp with pretty blond hair took a slight step away from me. I looked among them and recognized the vampire from the hardware store. His eyes were golden now, soft and cautious. I studied the others. There was a soft, mother looking one with auburn hair and a short body, standing closely to the oldest looking one with blond hair and sharp eyes. Farthest from me was a tiny one with short black hair, sticking out in all directions. Standing next to her was a tall blond male with big eyes. Next to them was the hardware meany, and closest to me was the pretty blond one. Behind her was a huge dude with brown hair and big biceps. The oldest looking one took a step forward from the others.

"Hello, Sam." He said in almost a friendly voice.

Sam dipped his head in response, eyeing him cautiously.

"We need to talk… in person."

Sam nodded and turned around. _Wait here, Bella._

I felt uneasy standing next to seven nasty smelling vampires without him, but fortunately he didn't take long, and was back quickly.

I could feel the others approaching, their excitement and chatter whipping through me. I felt the adrenaline course through my veins. I tore at the grass, ripping a big patch to shreds. The blond one eyed me uneasily still, but a bigger vamp behind her, a guy, glared at me, so I stopped.

The rest of the pack broke into the clearing, fanning out behind Sam and me. The bronze haired boy wrinkled his nose, looking disgusted, and I caught his eyes and sent a glare of my own. Their sickly sweet smell, cloying to the inside of my nose was making my stomach nauseas. They smelled of blood, and nothing else, except for death. They created a smell of death wherever they went, it followed them, tainting whatever air they touched. I could feel the agreement from the others, that they too felt this way. Just being near them made my blood boil, as my instincts, the very laws that had created me, told me that these things were bad, and to be destroyed at all costs.

Sam spoke. "What do you want Carlisle?"

"Nothing but to pass on a bit of information." His voice was smooth, like dripping honey, or congealing blood. It made my fur prickle.

"What would that be?" Sam asked, his voice tight, patience tried.

"We have some friends coming into town. They will be arriving over the next few days. They too are vegetarians, but we thought you would like to know." He said, still calmly. His quiet voice, so kind in the face of my anger, seemed to me like a slap in the face. It only made me angrier. I felt a soothing wave come from Jake, even though it, too, was tainted with malice for these… _things_.

"Vegetarians. So they're like you?"

"Well, yes." His voice stayed flat, but I could hear… doubt, that seemed like the right word, but only a little bit. The rest of the pack noticed too and I could feel their suspicion crackle through our link like static electricity, or lightning.

Sam nodded slowly. "Thank you for the warning."

_Well he certainly didn't need to bring a whole coven of vampires to tell us that. _I

Carlisle nodded, then turned, the rest of his coven following suit. I let my breath out in a long sigh, frustrated that it had not been able to vent my anger. Jake laughed, coming over and nudged my shoulder. _What a little warrior you are. Just wait until we get you trained up._

The thought made me smile.

**Thank you so much you guys! PLEASEEE review! **

**-M&M**


	7. Chapter 7: One of the Pack

**Chapter 7! The book is coming to an end, sadly. Well, enjoy!**

** -M&M**

Jake faced me in full wolf form, and instructed me on fighting techniques. For now, everyone's thoughts contributed to my lesson. Jake spoke.

_Full grown bloodsuckers and newbie bloodsuckers are different. The new ones are stronger, but stupid. They'll react to anything, they're really... volatile._

Quil spoke. _Volatile. Isn't that an awfully big word for you Jake?_

_ Hey Quil. STFU, dude. _Jake said before returning to me. _Anyway, they're a bit more dangerous but easier to kill. Full grown vamps aren't as strong, but they're smarter; harder to kill. I'm going to teach you how to fight them without getting killed._ He said lightly, but I could hear the angry, almost scared tone in his voice.

_Theoretically_.Embry said.

Jake mentally shot daggers at him, along with a mental image of Jake beating him in his sleep. I could feel Embry's amusement, but he didn't say anything else.

_Now that key is for you to keep your reflexes sharp, be quick, and above all be vicious. Never feel sympathy or doubt your movements, because a blood sucker will never show you the same kindness. _The pack grumbled its agreement. _Now I'm going to come at you, slow at first but its gonna get faster-_

Quil broke in, _That's what she said!_

Jake dropped his head and let out a sigh. _Bella, um, if you wouldn't mind...?_

_ Sure._ We had practiced more before, and now it was a lot easier and quicker to block out everyone. I took in one breath and searched my mind for the 'off switch', as we had been calling it.

_Hey!_ Embry said. _That's no fair- _And then it was quiet except for Jake and I.

_That's better. _He said. _So, anyway, watch what I do, then you try and copy me. _He took a few steps back from me then ran and jumped in mid air. He came down with paws grasping at an invisible upright figure and teeth clamping and tearing around the invisible figures head. I took a running start and tried to copy him. Watching the replay through his mind I saw my jump was not as high or fast, and my paws kind of flailed out to the side. I sat down and scowled.

_Try again. _Jake encouraged.

I did, and then again and again. I was just beginning to see improvement nearly fifteen minutes later. Jake nodded, ready to move on. _But I don't have it yet..._I said, confused.

_You don't need to be perfect, just know enough to keep you alive. Moving on, try this..._

We must have gone over twenty different moves, from zig-zagging around enemies to ambushing from behind fallen logs to full on frontal attacks; all with the aim to keep me in one piece if we were attacked. I didn't master any of them, didn't even come close, but apparently it was good enough for Jake, even if I didn't feel totally confident with my fighting.

_Chill, Looka, _He said. _You're a natural._

_ Whatever you say..._My skepticism was apparent.

_How's this. You get that zig-zag right, and... I'll let you come to the bonfire with the rest of us tonight._

I raised my eyebrows, or as much as I could as a wolf. _Oh, you'll let me? Well. How kind of you._

_ Well, of course! You gotta earn it._

I sighed. _What ever. Let's do it. But it's NOT because I'm playing into this 'earn it' thing. I wanna get it right._

_ Yeah, sure. Okay. Remember, dig your claws in. The whole point is to move quickly. Go as fast as you can without falling over._

It was nearly three o clock, according to my stomach, when Jake finally called a stop to training. I could feel his satisfaction, and maybe a little pride, when when walked away from the claw-torn clearing. He had a tiny gash in his side from when he decided we should spar, and even though I was fairly frantic, he promised it would be healed before we got back to my house. I let everyone's minds trickle back into the flow, but only Sam, Quil, Embry, and Paul were there.

Quil and Embry both noticed at the same time that Jake was in fact bleeding, and I could hear the yipping laughter from where we stood in my own ears. _Dude, you got beat by a girl._ Embry said.

_ I got a scratch. Bella would turn you into a cat toy if you guys fought. _He said with smug assurance, clearly proud of me.

_Well duh. I mean, after all, it is Embry. _Quil said, like he was talking about a special-ed kid.

_You little-_ Embry's thoughts cut off as he jumped Quil and they began rolling around on the ground like a mass of puppies.

_Well, anyway, how'd she do?_ Sam asked, trying not to notice Quil and Embry's growling and muffled curses.

_Great, as always. _Jake said.

I noticed with some annoyance that everyone was asking Jake about me. Shouldn't I be included in this? I sighed.

_Oh, sorry Bella. _Sam said.

_ It's all good. I think Jake might be overstating things a bit though. Really, its not like-_

_ Don't even bother Bella. You rock, and everyone knows it._

_ What? I'm just saying, there's plenty of room for improvement._ I said, not comfortable with the praise.

_Well, whatever. If we get in some kind of fight, we don't have to worry about Bella. She'll be fine. _Jake said, assuredly, like he was talking about some prized possession... I liked it.

Quil and Embry resolved their scuffle with Quil coming out victorious. _Hah! You just got pwned, sissy man. Suck it!_

_ Yeah, well I say you lose because you actually used 'pwned' seriously in a sentence. Therefor, you suck._ Embry said with finality.

_Jeez, no need to be a sore loser. _Quil said, mockingly.

_Hey, are we still having that bonfire tonight? _Paul asked.

_Yeah. You gonna be there? _Sam asked.

_Yeah. Dude, free food. Who isn't coming? _Paul asked rhetorically.

We all laughed. I still wasn't used to this humongous appetite. It was insanity, that I could eat a whole bag of pizza rolls and still be hungry. Embry spoke. _Yeah, and you're a chick. Imagine how we guys feel? It's ten times worse._

_ I know. I've seen Jake eat, like when he raids our kitchen. _(**A/N: Ugh. Any of you have those friends who come over just to steal your food? *Cough* *Megan* *Cough* … jk, ily!) **

Quil laughed. _You have an open kitchen? Sweet, I'm coming over tomorrow!_

_ Hey, you gotta fight for your right at that table. You gotta go through me first. _Jake said.

_No prob, I'll just dangle a picture of Bella in front of you and let you drown in your own drool. Once your taken care of, the fridge will be mine! _He even topped his thought off with an evil laugh.

_Next time I see you Quil, you're dead. _Embarrassment and anger bubbled through Jake's words.

_Oh, I'm scared. You have me shaking in my skin. _He said, joking.

Jake turned to me. _I'll be right back, okay? Just gotta go take care of somethin'... _He ran off in the general direction of Quil and Embry's patrol. I could feel Quil's fear, and it wasn't long before he broke off of their trail in the opposite direction of Jake. He didn't have a chance though. Only a mile separated where they were and where I stood, and Jake was twice as fast as Quil. I felt the impact of Jake's body slamming into Quil's through the link and heard Jake cussing Quil out as he tore him to shreds.

_Okay fine. Fine! I give! Damn, man, you didn't have to bite so hard..._ Quil grumbled as Jake turned and jogged back to me.

By now we were at my house, and Charlies car was parked out front. He must have had a half day or something. I sighed and turned my back to Jake, pulling my human skin over me and slipping on the cloth shorts and t-shirt that had been previously tied to my leg. Jake turned as I turned, and gestured towards the house dramatically. We walked up the path to the front of the house, instead of going in the back door that led off to the woods; wouldn't want to raise unnecessary suspicion. Charlie sat at the kitchen table, news paper in one hand and a sandwich in the other. Oldie music played lightly in the background from an old radio that sat on the kitchen counter.

"Hey, kids. Whatcha up to?" He asked around a mouth of ham and cheese.

"Nothin'. Why are you home so early?" I asked. "Half day at work?"

"Yeah. It was a slow day and we're over staffed so they told me to get outta dodge. Hows your day been?"

I shrugged, ignoring the small smile peaking at the edge of Jake's mouth. "Slow. We were just hanging out down by the rez with some of Jake's friends. Speaking of which, Jake, me, and some other people were going to a bonfire tonight. Cool?" I hated asking for permission, I should be old enough now that I didn't have to, but I decided to throw in the 'cool' just for good measure.

"Hmm? Who?" I could picture all the druggies and gang bangers he was imagining in his mind.

"Well, Billy'll be there and Sam, then there's the Clearwater kids and a few others. You know Quil, Embry, Jared, Paul...?" Jake said.

Charlie nodded his approval. "Sounds great. When ya gonna be back?"

I shrugged.

"Just get back before the sun comes up. No... drugs. No smoking, drinking..." His voice trailed off and he gestured with his hand for me to fill in the blanks of the list that went on and on. I knew the drill.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." I said, walking over and ruffling his hair. He grumbled and smoothed his thinning dome fuzz.

Jake turned to me and asked, "So... I'll be back here when the sun starts to go down. 8:30?"

"Sure. What should I bring?"

"Well it can get chilly, so bring a hoodie," He winked at me. I knew I wouldn't get cold, werewolf perk and what not. "And food. Lots of bonfire cook-able foods. Hotdogs, marshmallows, so on and so forth."

"Gotcha. Well, I'm just about getting sick of you. Go on and shoo, or I'll sick the dogs on you." I said, humor concealed in my words.

"Oh yeah. 'Cuz I'm so afraid of the big bad wolf." He winked and slipped out the front door.

I walked back into the kitchen, pulling open the door and shuffling around left over containers looking for something to eat. I heard Charlies muffled voice from behind me. "Looks like you're awfully fond of Jake."

"Yeah, Jake's great." I said, hoping he'd drop it.

He didn't. "So are you two dating or something?"

"I guess you could say that..." I trailed off pitifully.

He was quiet for a few seconds, then, "Well good. Great! He's a good kid, always has been."

"I agree." I said, hoping he'd drop it. I didn't want this conversation to-

"So are you two, you know, being safe-"

"Bye Dad!" I said, bolting up the stairs with my prize of cold pizza and left over macaroni and cheese.

"Hey, wait a minute! I'm still talking to-" My closed door cut of his voice, and I sighed in relief. I was almost worried that I may have insinuated something by fleeing from the kitchen so fast, but then again it would be funny to see him sweat. Charlie had never exactly been comfortable with the whole 'I'm female' thing, so maybe I'd turn up the PDA with Jake, if for no other reason than to see what he'd do. I laughed quietly to myself and grabbed a book from beside my bed and sat down. If I had some time to waste, I might as well try to relax. Soon, though, I felt my eyes drooping shut.

A rustle outside my window woke me, and startled into a upright position, my head whirled expecting some kind of vampiric attacker but instead was confronted with a squirrel. I sighed and rolled over, looking at my alarm clock. This was just as shocking and had me on my feet: 8:15. I had 15 minutes to get ready. I sighed heavily and walked to my dresser, pulling out the first things my hands touched, ending up with black denim shorts and a bright green tank top, just one shade darker than lime green. I grabbed a pair of black running shoes from my closet and fled to the bathroom.

I figured a five minute shower, then another five minutes to dry my hair and _maybe_ put a few waves in it, then off to raid the kitchen and hopefully I'd be done by the time Jake got here. I twisted the knobs on the shower, not even bothering with the temperature seeing as I wouldn't get too cold or too hot anyway. I was in and out, dried and hair done with a few stray waves from the curling iron and into the kitchen by 8:27, and with three minutes to go flung open the freezer and grabbed all three packs of hotdogs there. It was lucky, I supposed, that we had so many, but that was only because hot dogs and eggs were all Charlie knew how to cook.

I had the three packs in a bag and sat down at the kitchen table just as Jake walked in. "Jeez Jake, took you long enough. I've been sitting here for like fifteen minutes!"

"Jeez, Bella. I'm like, right on time!"

"I don't wanna hear it." I looked at his face, which actually looked ashamed and remorseful. "I'm just joking. Come here, does some one want a hug?" I opened my arms.

He perked up like a kid in a candy shop and romped across the room, picking me up and spinning in two full circles. Charlie must have heard the commotion because he ambled into the room just as Jake set me down, and thinking back to my revenge on Charlie for making lunch awkward, I leaned up and pressed my lips hard against Jake's. At first he seemed surprised but got over it fairly quickly as he settled into the kiss moving his lips against mine. I figured there was a 50/50 chance of Charlie gathering his balls and saying something, or just scurrying out of the room, leaving his poor gonads behind. The frantic pitter-patter of steps on the linoleum told me he had returned to the refuge of the living room.

I broke the kiss off laughing, not only at Charlie, but at Jake's confused, half happy, half dazed face. "I'll explain later. Let's go."

"Yeah. Alright, sure. Um, did I miss something?" He asked as I dragged him out the front door, passing Charlie on the way out, who made a point not to look at either of us.

~At the Bonfire~

The Bonfire was on cliffs overlooking the ocean. The water was illuminated like fire by the sunset, like it had been doused with gasoline and the suns rays had ignited it. The fire cast a yellow glow on the faces that surrounded it while the sun illuminated the silhouettes from behind. I could smell the acrid, but natural, smoke as well as hot dogs already cooking over the flames. The fire crackled like it was alive, and I noticed the one log still open had a worn, smooth top from years and years of use. Sam sat next to Emily on one seat, Leah and Seth shared another seat, then was Quil and Embry, Jared and Paul, Billy and Henry (**A/N: Yeah, yeah. He died, but ya know what? Too bad.)**, and an open one for us that faced out to the water. I sighed happily as Jake took my hand and led me to our seats.

I tossed my bag of food on the flat rock where other things were sitting. I saw hot dogs by the dozen, same with the marshmallows, and more soda in two liters and cans than I had ever seen at any other party. Sam saw us first, and he just nodded a little, but once Quil and Embry noticed us, they jumped up and nearly tackled us to the ground. I was a little surprised by the physically greeting, which consisted of grabbing us by the shoulders and giving us each a rather thorough shaking. I didn't expect to be this warmly accepted this soon. Jake must have seen the surprise in my eyes because he looked down at me and gave my hand a squeeze. I could nearly hear his words in my mind: _Welcome to the Pack._

Paul, who was closest to the flat rock that held the food, tossed us each a stick, with two hot dogs each already stuck on it. I slid off the log and onto the ground, leaning into the flames and holding the hotdog just low enough that it would bubble but not burn. Jake slithered down nest to me, doing the same. As I watched the meat sizzle, bubble, and brown, Billy stood and began to speak. "Now that we're all here, I think we can start." He looked pointedly at Jake and I, but resumed talking. "The legend I'm going to tell you now is one of the first imprint." I fell into Billy's hypnotic story voice that rumbled, low and soothing, and found myself seeing the story behind my lids as he narrated it. I barely noticed myself pulling the hot dogs out of the flames, eating, then going right back in with a new pair. I leaned into Jake's big welcoming body and rested my head on his shoulder. He ran his hand down my thigh and grabbed my free hand, squeezing it.

Legend after legend fell on my ears, sending me deeper and deeper into a soothed meditation, absorbing the tribes history, the packs history, but most importantly, my history like a sponge. When Billy finally ended, sitting back down, I was almost disappointed that it was over, but just as soon Jake reached for the bag of marshmallows and passed it around. The sounds of the clearing went from quiet and reverent to the raucous and loud, usually insulting, voices of the pack that I had come to know. Inevitably, Quil and Embry broke out into a fight but this time Seth and Jared joined in, leaving the rest of us to watch, bemused.

By now, the sun had completely set and the full moon rose above the water turning it a steely silver color where the moonlight touched it and then a dark gray-navy in the shadows. I could hear the surf crashing against the cliff but couldn't see it. Suddenly, Sam stood and gestured for me to follow him. We walked away from the flames and even though my body itself was warm, I felt the cool night air brushing the hair around my face.

"What's up?" I asked, slightly nervous.

"Well, I was thinking about you wanting to tell Charlie about the pack and... I think I'll allow it."

"Really?" I asked, ecstatic.

Sam nodded. "I could tell how important it was for you to be truthful with Charlie, and seeing as he is practically the only real cop in Forks, I'd hate for him to get the pack involved with some kind of teen rebellion act, or something. And I think it'll be better for you, too." He smiled a bit down at me.

"Thanks, Sam." I smiled broadly, even thought it was just beginning to dawn on me that I had no clue how to go about actually telling Charlie. I couldn't just walk up to him like 'Hey Dad. Lovely weather. And oh, by the way I'm a werewolf. So yeah, have a good day at work.' No, that wouldn't work at all.

I returned to the fire, happy, but muddled. This was going to require more thought than anything else I had encountered this whole summer. _Aww, I hate thinking on vacation._ I thought to myself. I sat down next to Jake.

"What's wrong Looka?" He asked, his voice really concerned.

"Well Sam told me I could tell Charlie." I trailed off.

"That should be good though, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, but it's not like I can just drop a bomb like that on him. I mean how could I possibly go about telling him about something like this? Maybe I'll wait to see if it becomes a problem, or until I find a really good time to tell him."

He pulled my head into his chest and kissed the top of my head. "Whatever makes you happiest." He said smiling.

Quil and Embry cat whistled from the other side of the clearing. "Yeah, Jake. Get some!" That sounded like Embry.

"Quiet you." Jake said, throwing a red hot poker that had been left in the flames at his head. Embry dodged it smoothly, grabbing it's cool handle and flinging it tip over handle back our way. Jake stuck his hand up to catch the handle's loop on one finger then twirled it into his hand and shoved it down in the ground.

Quil said, "Party pooper! Jeez Jake, no need to be such a pacifist."

"Pacifist? That's an awfully big word for you, huh Jake?" Quil said, mocking what he had said earlier that day.

"Not for me, but I'm surprised you understood it. How did you get past the third grade anyway? Didn't anyone ever tell you it's wrong to bribe the teachers."

"Pssh." Quil said, dismissing the thought with a wave of his hand.

** Nothin like a good bonfire! Speaking of which.. we're headed off to one now. Woooooh! I love summer! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! **

**-M&M **


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